Radioactive
by uoduck
Summary: When Shane goes to tell Daryl about his missing or dead brother, he's all but ready for this discussion to turn violent. However, he doesn't expect someone to come between them and talk Daryl down. Daryl/Harry.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own either Harry Potter or the Walking Dead.

* * *

"No one's going to miss Merle," Morales remarked, glancing at Rick from the passenger seat. "Though Daryl will."

"Daryl?" Rick repeated, focusing on the rocky road up the hill.

"Merle's brother."

* * *

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He's not going to be happy to hear that his brother was left behind," Dale remarked, glancing at the fire then at Rick and Glenn.

"I'll tell him," T-Dog said. "I dropped it."

"I cuffed him," Rick argued. "That makes it mine."

"I don't mean to bring race into this," Glenn started, looking around the camp fire. Carl and Lori were all but huddled around Rick. "But it might sound better coming from a white man."

"Wait. Wait a minute."

Shane, Dale and T-Dog all turned to see one of the other members of their camp walk up. He was about six feet tall, moderately long black hair down to his shoulders and green eyes, wearing a loose pair of jeans and a dark green t-shirt.

"Harry?" Shane asked. "Anything wrong?"

"No. At least, nothing on my end. Teddy's asleep," the guy replied, sitting down next to Andrea and Amy. "Did I just hear you guys talk about leaving Merle somewhere in Atlanta?"

"You have good hearing," Rick commented, glancing at the new guy.

"I usually do," the man replied. "I suppose we have to listen well these days."

"You're right about that," T-Dog said.

Andrea sighed, nodding her head slightly. "Yeah. He was out of control."

Harry relaxed against the log behind them. "He dead?"

"No. T-Dog was just describing how he had left the door closed," Rick explained. "There's a good chance he's alive. He mean anything to you?"

"No. The bugger deserves whatever's happening to him," Harry remarked darkly. "You the husband they thought was dead?"

"Rick Grimes. And you would be..."

"Harry Potter. You guys think Daryl would be much of a problem?" Harry asked, glancing around the fire.

"You've seen how he is," Shane argued, taking a sip of his water. "Volatile."

Harry snorted and shook his head. "I'll take care of telling him. He won't hurt me."

"You might want to rethink that," Dale advised. "I don't want your son to watch you get hurt."

"First, he's my godson. Secondly, I'm pretty sure that Daryl wouldn't hurt me. Ever," Harry assured them.

Everyone stared at him, more than a little bewildered. Though from how Andrea and Amy looked, he thought that they might be connecting the dots. They already knew that he was bisexual with a preference for men and Andrea was smart. Carol too was staring at him with a perplexed look. Harry sighed. "Look, I know how Daryl can be. I know. Especially with matters pertaining to his brother. He'll take it better from me, is all."

Shane still looked at him as if he had grown an extra head.

"Sure. We'll just oversee it when he gets back from his hunt," Shane replied, nodding.

Harry rolled his eyes then stood back up. "Fine. I'll just turn in now. Let me know if you need me for watch."

* * *

"Have any trouble with him?" Rick asked as they watched the man with the slight British accent walk away.

Shane shook his head. "No. In fact, he's been a good person to have on watch. Even helps the women with their stuff."

"He looks harmless," Rick commented.

"Will you back me up tomorrow?" Shane asked, staring after Harry for a second then turning back to Rick. "Daryl's definitely not going to take his brother being left as well as Harry thinks he will. May even turn hostile."

"Of course. We were partners before," Rick answered.

"He told me he doesn't know how to use a gun," Shane mentioned, eyes narrowed a little. "But he has good eyesight so he's a good man to have in these times."

"Wonder what happened in England to get him to leave," T-Dog muttered. "Maybe... other countries aren't as impacted as we are?"

"He told me he doesn't know what happened," Andrea confessed. "He's been here in the US for eight months."

* * *

"Harry, I miss Andromeda," Teddy murmured, uncurling from his ball in his sleeping bag. "I miss everyone else."

Harry sighed and shuffled over to sit next to his godson. "I miss them too, little bear. I just don't know what happened to any of them."

Teddy scrunched up his nose, pulled on his shirt and pants for the day. "I'm not little anymore!"

"So you're saying that you're a bear instead of a wolf?" Harry asked, grinning a little. He flicked his wrist to summon the water bottle that Teddy had been drinking last night and held it out to him, after pouring a few drops of potion into it. Teddy didn't bat an eyelash at what Harry did, more than use to drinking something to keep his metamorphmagus abilities at bay.

"Yeah, I'm a bear! Roar!"

Harry jumped back, mock afraid. "Oh, what can I do? It's a bear! Where in Merlin's name did Teddy go?"

Teddy laughed, giggled a little. He took the water bottle from Harry and took a few sips.

"I think Carol and Lori have breakfast for you," Harry remarked, inching to the door of the tent. "And I think Daryl's coming back in a few hours."

_Hopefully._

"Yay! Daryl! But what about Merle?" Teddy asked, glancing back at him as they left the tent. "You said we need to be careful around him."

"We do. However, something happened to the bastard," Harry replied, only to clap a hand to his mouth.

Teddy stared at him, eyes wide.

"Don't repeat that," Harry muttered. "Especially not in front of Daryl, okay? He's still sensitive about his brother being called bad names."

"Okay. I need to go to the bathroom. Can you come with me?" Teddy asked, looking out at the camp.

"Of course. Then you can go eat with Carl and Sophia."

"Dad, why does Sophia's father always smell like fear whenever you come near him?" Teddy questioned, eyes lighting up when he saw Carl and Sophia. The other two kids were waving at him and calling out to him. Harry had hoped that there would be other kids in the camp when they arrived and luckily, Carl and Sophia took a good liking to Teddy when they met. "Was it something you did?"

Harry snorted. "You could say that."

Teddy stared at him, giggled a little. "Sophia doesn't smell like fear anymore, I've noticed. Or old fear, I think. She's afraid of the walkers."

"I've noticed too."

* * *

The next morning, Dale was sitting on his RV watching the surrounding hills. His rifle was sitting propped up against his chair next to him. It was clear of walkers as far as he could see, only alive people in the camp. He saw Teddy, Harry's godson, go over to play with Carl a little ways into the forest. Dale could still see them and hear them so he figured they would be okay for now.

Glenn was overseeing people taking apart his stolen car, pouting a little. The new guy strode out of Lori's tent and walked over by Glenn, patting him on the shoulder.

Dale watched as Rick moved to speak with Carol a little then walked over to talk with Lori. And Dale could definitely see that Lori was in much better spirits than she had been before Rick had arrived at the camp.

"Hey, Dale, do you need me to relieve you?"

Dale peered down at the ground where Harry had walked up.

"Jeez, I didn't see you at all," Dale remarked.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Habit," Harry commented. "So... watch?"

"No, I'm good. I-"

A scream broke out, coming from the woods. Another scream followed it.

Dale watched as Harry stiffened, turned around and raced off toward where Carl and Teddy had been playing.

"TEDDY!"

Lori, Rick and Shane raced off in that direction too while Dale crawled down from the RV.

"CARL!"

"MOM!"

After checking that Sophia and the other kids were with their parents, Dale ran after the others. He arrived in time to see Harry pulling Teddy into a hug and Lori doing the same with Carl.

"You okay, cub?" Harry whispered quietly, exchanging worried glances with Dale. Teddy was all but burrowed into Harry's chest, shaking a little.

"'M okay," Teddy whispered back. "Is Carl okay?"

"He's..." Dale watched as Harry peered over Teddy's body to see Lori hugging Carl. The woman nodded at Harry then turned back to comforting Carl. "He's fine, Teddy. You see a walker?"

"Yeah. Only I think..."

"Hmm?"

"It was chewing on a deer," Teddy said. "A deer with arrows in it."

"Oh," Harry replied, smile growing on his face. "Arrows from a crossbow?"

"Yep."

Dale stared at the two of them then went on to see about the walker.

* * *

"Ah, crap."

Shane turned to see that Harry had followed him, Rick, Dale and Jim into the clearing where the walker was. Amy and Andrea had followed them too but Shane was more concerned about the little guy.

He watched as Harry pinched his nose shut and lightly gestured for Teddy to copy him. The stench of the just dead walker was starting to waft upwards toward them.

"You brought him with you?" Shane exclaimed. "There could be more! And you have no weapon!"

"I'm not too worried," Harry remarked, frowning a little. "I only wish the walker had been more... courteous about picking out its' food."

Teddy was staring at the cut off head with a certain amount of curiosity but startled when the eyes opened and the mouth moved.

"Eww," Amy groaned, turning away. Andrea herded her sister away with one last glance at the walker.

"Hey, Andrea?" Harry asked, raising his voice a little to be heard. "Amy?"

"Yeah, Harry?" Andrea turned to glance at him.

"Would you two take Teddy back with you?" Harry asked. "He has a sensitive nose."

"Sure," Amy replied, holding out her hand.

"Teddy, could you go with the two nice ladies for a minute or so?" Harry asked, peering down at his godson.

Teddy looked up at him, nodded. "Yeah."

Harry watched him pad over to take Amy's hand and watched as the three of them walked back to the camp.

"More polite?" Shane repeated incredulously after Teddy and the women had left. "You wanted it to come eat us?"

Harry sighed. "No. Of course not! It could have picked a better deer to eat, is what I'm meaning."

Shane exchanged glances with Rick, who shrugged a little.

Harry gestured toward the arrows that were in the deer's flank. "Those are Daryl's arrows. He's going to be so disappointed. Not to mention, we can't eat that deer now."

"What is it with you and Daryl?" Shane asked. "You..."

Harry stared at him then glanced to behind the big rock behind the walker and the deer. Shane heard a rustling noise coming from that direction and raised his gun, hearing Rick raise the shovel he had brought. Shane heard grumbling that was distinctly coming from Harry's direction and thought he could'a heard something along the lines of _stupid police officer_.

Daryl Dixon came around the side of the rock, crossbow in hand.

"Jesus," Dale whispered, sighing when he saw Daryl.

Shane lowered his rifle but still kept it in hand.

"Son of a bitch," Daryl exclaimed, striding over to the deer.

Dale saw Daryl peer around at the group before going over to the deer. He saw Daryl and Harry exchange a peculiar look then Daryl went to examine the deer. Dale almost thought it was each man looking the other over for injuries or something.

"That's my deer," Daryl grumbled, pulling out the arrows. "Been tracking it for miles! Now it's all gnawed on by this bastard."

Daryl started to kick at the walker for a few seconds before standing back up. Dale could have sworn he saw something in Daryl soften when his eyes landed on Harry.

"That's what I tried telling it," Harry remarked idly. "But it didn't reply or stop."

"You think we can still eat it?" Daryl asked, eyes still on Harry but talking to Shane. "If I cut around this chewed up area?"

"Nah, I would not risk that," Shane replied, raising an eyebrow at Daryl and Harry.

Daryl turned to glare at Shane before saying, "Damn shame. Got some squirrels though."

"You know Teddy and I will eat anything you bring back," Harry remarked then idly stepped closer to the head as it opened the eyes and gurgled.

"You guys are easy enough," Daryl replied, lips twitching up into a small tentative grin. He stared at the head for a second then nocked an arrow. "Come on people. It's the head you gotta shoot."

"Come on. Got something I need to talk to you about," Harry spoke, gesturing back to camp. Daryl released the arrow right into the skull then pulled the arrow back out as soon as it hit it's target.

"Where's Merle then? These squirrels ain't gonna skin themselves," Daryl commented, heading to the camp while falling into a speed that matched Harry's.

Dale and Shane stood there, jaws dropped. They exchanged glances then followed the two. Rick followed, a little curious. Daryl hadn't seemed at all hostile yet. Maybe Shane had got Daryl all wrong?

* * *

"Merle? Get your ass out here!" Daryl yelled as they made into camp.

Dale watched as Harry paced alongside him and turned to stop before the RV. "Daryl, about your brother."

Dale heard Shane and Rick come up next to him and they watched the scene unfold. Shane still had his rifle in hand, ready to do whatever needed done.

"Yeah? What about Merle?" Daryl asked, turning to stop across from Harry.

Dale could see that they were rather close to each other. They would only need a few steps to close the distance. He heard footsteps and glanced behind him only to realize Daryl and Harry were drawing a crowd. No one had seen Daryl this... quiet and non-hostile before.

"He was being his usual self back in Atlanta," Harry explained then shook his head. "More of his usual self than normal."

Daryl stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "That bad?"

"I think so," Harry said. "From what Glenn and Morales were saying yesterday. They had to handcuff him to a pipe."

"He put the others in danger?" Daryl asked, taking a step closer toward Harry.

Dale saw Harry glance over at Rick then over to where T-Dog was, nodding. "Yeah. But I think... T-Dog said that there was a possibility that Merle was still alive."

"He's my brother," Daryl murmured, just at a volume that everyone in the area would hear it but no one else. He sounded like he was... hesitant but... Dale figured that Daryl would have wanted to go back and get his brother. Dale had thought that this would have gotten violent, maybe Daryl would have even pulled his knife on either Rick or Shane or T-Dog. But Daryl was very tentative now, hands not even close to his knife. His crossbow was slung on his back and so was the line of squirrels that he had brought back.

"Yeah, I know that," Harry replied, taking a step closer toward Daryl.

"I should go back and get him," Daryl muttered, finally closing the distance between the two and pulling Harry into a...

"Well, that explains a lot," Dale spoke, turning around as Daryl and Harry started to kiss. "I still have questions but it does explain what just happened."

Shane's eyes were wide and his mouth was open.

It was almost like both Daryl and Harry were trying to melt into each other while maintaining the kiss.

Rick cleared his throat, smiling a little. "I was going to volunteer to go back with you."

"DARYL!"

Dale watched as they both pulled apart.

"Teddy, little man!" Daryl called out, kneeling to catch the little blur that was Harry's godson.

"You're back!" Teddy exclaimed, barreling into Daryl at full speed. "I missed you!"

"Course I'm back! I promised you, didn't I?" Daryl asked, ruffling Teddy's hair. "Did'ja look after your dad for me?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Dale noticed Harry looking at the two with a big, fond smile.

* * *

I have flashbacks planned for Daryl and Harry's first meeting and other important events in their relationship. So you guys can see how they met and all those sorts of things.


	2. Chapter 2

"How the fuck did you get in with the Dixons?" Shane exclaimed, staring at Harry and Daryl. The two men were sitting quietly on one of the logs that were around the fire pit, almost leaning into each other. Harry turned to glance up at Shane then promptly turned back to Daryl, only throwing up his left hand in a rude gesture. Teddy who was sitting between the two, giggled.

Shane narrowed his eyes then turned to look at Rick as the other man went about getting ready to go.

"I hate that you're doing this, man," Shane remarked, following his partner.

"Deal with it. I'm going," Rick replied. "Daryl wants to go get his brother back. I'm not letting him go alone."

"You're taking two other people with you," Shane argued. "That's four less people defending this camp."

"I'll be around," Harry called over, staring over at them. "Jim and Ed will be too."

"What use are you? You don't even know how to use a gun!" Shane exclaimed.

"Hey!" Daryl shouted, standing up and slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. "He's not useless!"

Harry stood up too, nudging Teddy over to go play with Carl and Sophia. "We'll be able to keep this group protected. I have a few... advantages up my sleeve."

"Like what?" Rick asked, glancing at Harry who raised an eyebrow. "It'd be good for us to know what people can do."

Harry exchanged a peculiar look with Daryl then started to shake his head as he turned to look at Rick and Shane. "Let's just say there's a reason why I call Teddy 'cub'. I'm just as good at what I do as probably you two are with guns."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Shane snapped out.

"Shane, stop. I'm inclined to trust the man's word," Rick said. "This camp won't be undefended."

* * *

"You come back in one piece, okay?" Harry asked, peering up at Daryl as he stood in the back of the van.

Daryl nodded, mouth nearly turned up into a hesitant grin. "You stay in one piece. Take care'a Teddy."

Harry smiled. "I'll do my best. Don't let Merle get to you when you retrieve him."

Daryl stared for a second longer then turned to go to the driver's seat in the van. Harry peered around the area, made sure no one was looking then jumped up into the van, using some of the strength that he had gained in the past few months to make it in one jump. He rolled his eyes when Daryl hit the horn a few times and turned to see that Rick and Shane were talking again.

"Hey, Daryl?" Harry quietly called over, walking over to put his hand on Daryl's right shoulder as he turned around.

"Yeah?"

"You're not useless either, you know that right?" Harry murmured, glancing straight into Daryl's eyes. Had it been only five months ago, Daryl wouldn't have looked him in the eyes. Hell, he wouldn't have even accepted that someone other than his brother cared about him. But now he did. Now he accepted little affectionate touches from Harry and he was... He had come so far from when Harry had met him.

"I know," Daryl replied quietly. "You may have'ta keep telling me that."

Harry closed his eyes briefly and leaned forward a little, heart aching, placed his forehead against Daryl's. "You are my world, Daryl. You're not useless."

Harry pulled away a little to see that Daryl had turned red, ears pinking up a little behind his hair.

"Stop," Daryl grumbled though he didn't really mean it if his expression was anything to go by.

Harry smiled. "Alright. Just be careful."

* * *

"Dad, could I go catch frogs with Carl?" Teddy asked as they walked down to the quarry and the small lake was. Harry could hear women chatting quietly even from just walking down the hill and realized that it was Carol, Amy, Andrea, and Jacqui washing clothes. He could just see Ed sitting in his truck in a corner of the quarry.

"Yeah. Just stay within my sight, okay?" Harry asked. "Or... stay within Shane's sight. Even though the guy..."

Teddy peered up at him, a little confused.

"It's either my gut instinct or my instinct as a werewolf," Harry commented. "And I don't know what it's trying to tell me about that guy. But yeah, go have fun with Carl."

Harry watched as Teddy raced down the hill in his sneakers, shorts and t-shirt and sighed. He knew that whatever he thought of Shane, it was a little biased due to the ex-police officer not liking Daryl. He also knew that in the past few weeks that the four of them had found this camp, he and Daryl hadn't really been together really.

Daryl hadn't said anything but Harry had been able to tell that he was worried about their reception at the camp. And so they had kept their relationship under the radar with Harry moving into Daryl's tent under his invisibility cloak. Merle had given them a look before they had joined the camp then gone along with it, oddly enough.

He wandered down and bypassed Shane, Carl and Teddy to go near the women. He placed the crate of dirty clothes that he had brought down onto the sandy bank and pulled out the soap that he had taken to washing clothes with.

"Hey, Harry," Carol said. "You want us to wash those?"

"No. You guys are busy already," Harry replied, glancing across the row of women. "Plus, I have some really soiled clothes in my crate. I don't want you four to have to deal with them."

"I wish the other guys would be as considerate as you," Andrea remarked.

"Well, I probably wouldn't count on it," Harry commented, starting to wash the clothes. "But if you guys want help in the future, I'd be glad to help with the wash or food or whatever."

"You sound like you've been doing your own laundry for a while," Amy said.

"Yeah, try all of my childhood," Harry responded. "This isn't new to me."

Carol and Jacqui glanced at him.

"Thanks for taking Teddy earlier though," Harry spoke. "I didn't actually want him around a walker."

_At least until I start teaching him again._

"It wasn't a problem," Amy answered, glancing at her sister who smiled. "He's adorable."

"You said he was your godson earlier?" Jacqui asked.

Harry nodded, hearing Teddy's squeal of laughter as he full on jumped into the water. He smiled then turned back to the conversation. "Yeah, he's my godson."

"What happened to his parents?" Carol asked.

"They... died," Harry replied after a few seconds.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did they get attacked by walkers?" Amy asked, turning to look over at Teddy.

"No. But they did get attacked," Harry remarked. "I've taken care of Teddy since basically when he was born. Well, I take care of him and his aunt had taken care of him."

Harry felt all four gazes turn to him.

"He misses them but he only knew them briefly and that was before he was one," Harry said.

* * *

"I do miss my Maytag," Carol remarked after a few minutes of silence.

"I miss my Benz, SatNav," Andrea said.

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey," Jacqui added.

"I could never understand the lure of coffee," Harry muttered. "Ugh, the taste. So gross. And the smell... No offense to you though."

Jacqui laughed.

"Well, you Brits are a different species," Amy spoke, smiling. "I miss my phone and texting."

"I will try not to be offended by that," Harry said, mock glaring at Amy. "Besides, I've been in the States for a few months."

Amy laughed quietly then they all glanced at him.

"What?" Harry asked then sighed. "I miss grocery stores. Though from what Daryl's bringing back, I'm happy."

"So... you and Daryl?" Amy asked, staring at him.

"Yeah?"

"I never would have guessed that Daryl had someone," Andrea commented. "Never mind that it was... you."

"Are you guys..." Harry started, now really glaring.

"No," Amy exclaimed. "We don't have anything against you or Daryl or anyone else."

"She just wants gossip," Andrea said, laughing.

"Ah, gossip. Another thing I definitely do not miss," Harry said, wincing a little. "And nor does Daryl, I would think."

"I miss my vibrator," Andrea added quietly.

Harry raised an eyebrow but chuckled. The others did too, gasping a little. Harry could hear Ed stand up from his car and start to walk toward them.

"Me too," Carol quietly agreed, turning to glance around at Ed before talking.

"Me three," Harry said before standing up.

The women all stared at him then broke out into even louder laughter.

"What? I used it before I met Daryl," Harry retorted, grinning. "Then you know, active sex life. That helps."

"Can't exactly have sex now. Not now when sounds draw these things."

Amy, Andrea, Carol and Jacqui all stared at him, still laughing. Harry could see however that Carol had tensed up as Ed walked over to them.

Harry, finished with his laundry, strode over to step in front of Ed. He raised an eyebrow at the other man, who stopped before running into them. "Did you not get my message before?"

Ed stared at him, reddening. Harry didn't think it was from embarrassment but from anger and confirmed it with a sniff.

"Or do I need to do something more?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes when he saw Ed was about to speak. "I will not stand for domestic abuse... Or child abuse."

"Carol's my wife," Ed growled out.

"Yeah, well, these kinds of things were not okay before the world went to shit," Harry replied idly. "And they're still not okay. You do not want to see me when I'm angrier."

"Besides, the whole, 'my significant other is my property' idea declined in popularity a long time ago," Harry added. "Now get before I do something I probably wouldn't regret."

Ed grumbled something that Harry wasn't too bothered about catching and practically stalked away. Harry turned to glance at Carol, who sat there stunned. He nodded at her then walked back to camp, yelling for Teddy to follow him.

* * *

"Teddy, dinner's ready," Harry quietly called, holding two bowls of soup that Carol and Lori had heated up over the fire.

Teddy raced over and sat next to him, eagerly holding out his hand for one. Harry saw Carl and Sophia go and sit by their respective parents too. Harry handed Teddy the one with the bigger portion and took the one with the smaller portion for himself.

Harry could feel Dale staring at him and sighed. "You guys want to ask about me and Daryl, now is the time. I feel like answering at least some questions."

"How did you two meet?" Amy asked, sitting beside Andrea.

Harry smiled a little. "It was a little... weird, I suppose, compared to other people's first meetings."

"Weird how?" Carol asked.

"Well, he thought I was either a dead or injured animal," Harry replied, mind going to when he first laid eyes on Daryl. He would need to edit out a few parts of the story but that was easy enough to do. "It was ten months ago."

* * *

_Harry stared at the rogue Death Eater, who smirked and drew his wand, and shot off like a jackrabbit. He could hear the guy start to taunt him and rolled his eyes. Death Eaters and their urge to taunt their victims. It was starting to get old. He ran, jumping over downed trees in a __woody area__ that he wasn't familiar with in a state that he wasn't familiar with. He had just come to Atlanta as a consultant, seeing as he was retired from hunting dark wizards. _

_ But he was still 'popular' in a way. He hadn't expected to run into the last escaped Death Eaters in Atlanta, Georgia. At least he didn't have Teddy with him. This would have been a lot more urgent if he had had his godson with him._

_ He spotted a green light racing toward him from behind and dodged, narrowing his eyes at it as it missed its target. This Death Eater meant business, already casting the killing curse only a few seconds into the fight._

_ He turned around to cast a hex behind him in the vague direction of Voldemort's minion and heard him yelp. Harry smiled __and ran on, aiming to draw the guy away from any non-magical people._

_He ran for a few more minutes, going deeper into the park. Then he had to skitter to a stop before he ran headlong into a group of people. People who had wands drawn and pointed at him. They all __smiled scarily at him before casting spells toward him. Harry stiffened and cast a shield but not before screaming when a curse hit him. He could feel blood falling down his leg and his chest. He fell backward and cast a curse back, hitting one of the guys. _

_ He did not account for getting hit from behind, yelping when he felt a curse tear open skin on his back. He winced at old scars being torn open, fresh blood rolling down from the curses. Harry glanced around him then thought of the spell that he wanted and murmured the incantation. His wand released a sickly blue light and split into six balls of light, hitting all of the Death Eater men and one woman. _

_ Black spots appeared in his vision and he held to consciousness long enough to watch the men fall down, screaming, then he apparated out of there. Only thing was, his mind was too... lightheaded to really focus on a destination at all._

_ Daryl Dixon was out hunting when he heard a soft thunk then a yelp. He ti__lt__ed his head, raised his crossbow then took off to investigate the noise. He distantly realized that the noises from animals and birds had stopped so it m__ight__ not have been an animal. And he didn't see any tracks leading up to where the noise had come from. _

_ He was just about to step over a tree root when something or someone cried out. "Could you not step on me, please?"_

_ Daryl jumped, having been focused on finding the possible animal that had cried out. He glanced down only to see a man, bloody, bruised and out in the middle of nowhere. There were leaves scattered on and around the man, like he had been there for an hour and leaves had fallen on him._

_ "The fuck are you doing out here?" Daryl asked, pointing his crossbow down at the man._

_ The man glared at him. "Do you think I'm out here on purpose?"_

_ "Don't know what'ta think," Daryl replied, narrowing his eyes._

_ "Well, I'm not out here on purpose," the man grumbled then winced, hands going to hold his chest. "Ow, that really hurt. I'm gonna... OW. I think I need a hospital."_

_ Daryl was about to respond when the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out._

_ "Daryl! Get your ass back here!" Merle shouted. "Dad wants you!"_

_ Daryl tried not to stiffen but his body, his back, did tense up at those words. He turned to stare down at the man then back toward the house. _

_ "Stay here."_

* * *

"That was your first meeting?" Andrea asked. "He found you after you'd been hit by a car?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, taking Teddy's finished bowl. "Cub, I think it's about bedtime. Why don't you get back to our tent?"

"Ahh, I wanted to wait up for Daryl," Teddy pouted but stood up anyway.

"I need to go to the bathroom anyways," Amy remarked. "You could use the RV's bathroom for bedtime cleanup if you wanted to."

Harry chuckled quietly as Teddy grinned and nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

A scream broke the quiet atmosphere. Harry immediately stood up and turned to see a walker taking a bite out of Amy.

"Amy!" Andrea yelled, standing up and running toward her sister.

Everyone stood up. Shane pulled his rifle out and that was the cue for more walkers entering the camp. "Lori, Carl, cars now!"

"Damn it. Teddy, stay with Lori and Carl!" Harry muttered, quickly pulling his wand out. He heard Teddy yell back and was grateful that he had already cast a monitoring and tracking charm on him. He ran, hearing gunshots echo in the clearing as people pulled their guns out, over to where Amy had fallen. He cast a cutting hex at the walker who had bitten Amy then kneeled at Amy's side. He stared at her for a second then cast a medical stasis charm on her, watched her breathing freeze and everything else about her freeze. "Stupid walkers not coming at us from upwind. Stupid me for not noticing them."

There were screams coming from everywhere and some shouts were quickly cut off. Harry grimaced, heard the groaning come up from behind him and concentrated on his left hand. He backed up a little but took care to stay in front of Andrea and Amy, shielding them both when they were out of commission. The walker growled at him and he reached out with his left hand, which was now a paw and swiped at its head with his claws. It fell to the ground, cleanly dead then Harry went on to cast cutting hexes on the walkers in the clearing and camp.

He stayed close to Andrea and Amy then took off deeper into camp, having decided he could help more in the thick of it. Harry did keep an eye on the two girls but there were too many walkers for him to always have them in his eyesight. He did see Carl, Lori, Teddy, Carol and Sophia grouped together in the door of the RV with Shane in front of them though. Jim too was holding his own as far as Harry could see.

Harry didn't know how long it was until he heard the twang of a familiar crossbow but he sighed in relief. He continued to swipe at walkers within reach and cast cutting hexes whenever he had the creatures within his line of sight and when they weren't... when there was no one between him and the walker.

Eventually though, the next time Harry swiped at a walker, he realized that it was the last one and that he had moved to fight back to back with Daryl.

"Harry, you okay?" Daryl asked quietly, lowering his crossbow slowly and turning around. Harry saw him glance down at Harry's hands then to look at the rest of him.

They were both still scanning the area for walkers. Harry took a deep breath, sniffed around and huffed out a relieved breath. He glanced at his left hand, or paw, and focused on turning it back to a hand. After his hand was back to five fingers, he stowed his wand back in his wand holster at his waist.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Daryl," Harry replied. "You? Did you find Merle?"

Daryl winced. "Nope."

"Amy!"

Harry turned to the source of the yell and winced. "Oh, Merlin! I forgot. You want to tell me about your adventure later? I have to go take care of Amy."

"Where's Teddy?"

"Over with Carl and Sophia. Would you check on him?" Harry called back as he ran back up the small hill to kneel next to Andrea and Amy. He detoured off to his tent to grab a blanket before tending to the current problem.

"Yeah. Our trip wasn't an adventure!"

Harry snorted and turned to focus on Andrea.

"She's dead!" Andrea said, voice raised, almost shouting.

"Andrea?" Harry murmured. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

"My sister's dead!" Andrea repeated, shaking more than a little.

"Easy. Andrea, I need to talk to you. Your sister's not dead, okay?" Harry explained quietly, reaching out to place his left hand(human hand) on Andrea's shoulder for reassurance.

Andrea turned up to stare at him, eyes a little wild and red. There were tears streaming down her pale face, along with a few splatters of blood. "How do you know that she's not dead?! She looks..."

"I know. You gotta trust me though when I say she's not dead," Harry replied, slipping an arm under Amy's body to scoop her into his arms. He was careful not to jostle Amy too much as she was still wounded. "Follow me?"

Andrea stared at him then over to where Dale was, over by the RV. Rick of course had gotten back along with Glenn and T-Dog and the ex-police officer was busy making sure his family was okay. Daryl had Teddy in his arms and his crossbow slung back along his shoulders.

"I'm not going to hurt either of you," Harry murmured, keeping his voice low. "I just... I have a way to save Amy."

"You're a doctor?" Andrea asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Uh, kind of? Could we talk about it out of earshot of the group?" Harry responded, standing up and settling Amy into his arms.

"Why out of earshot?" Andrea questioned, also standing up. She swayed a little as if her body had locked up while she sat next to her sister for the duration of the fight.

"It's private," Harry explained, gesturing for Andrea to follow him. "Come on. We won't go that far. Maybe just to the quarry. You still have your gun?"

"Yes. But you said you could save her?" Andrea stated, hand going to her waist where she had her gun.

"It's just in case more walkers show up," Harry replied calmly. He caught Daryl's eyes and gestured to Andrea and Amy then toward the quarry. Daryl nodded and turned back to Teddy.

* * *

Harry crouched down on the rocky bank and lowered the blanket down before setting Amy down. The medical stasis spell was still working as he could feel the draw on his magic. But he could feel the walker virus slowly start to do its work, inching through Amy's bloodstream. If he wanted to save her, he would have to act fast.

Andrea sat down next to her sister and grasped her hand, running her other hand through Amy's blood soaked hair. There was blood on Andrea's face and hands, probably from where she had tried to catch Amy as she had fallen.

"Andrea, I know I've told you about my sensitive nose and Teddy's sensitive nose," Harry started.

"Yeah? What's that got to do with Amy dying?" Andrea asked.

"There's a reason for our noses being sensitive," Harry explained then sighed. He would have to be blunt with Andrea; Amy didn't have long before they lost her entirely. "Have you ever heard of... werewolves?"

Andrea turned to stare at him, more than a little bewildered. She also smelled like she thought he was crazy. "Werewolves? Those are the stuff of comic books, Harry. They're not real."

"They are real," Harry replied steadily. He glanced down at his right hand and worked on partially shifting it, like he had during the battle. He watched it change, felt the bones shift into a paw and claws take the place of fingers. When he had first discovered that he could do this, he had been entirely freaked out. He held up his paw in front of Andrea's eyes and smelled the beginnings of fear from her. Her eyes widened and she went pale. "Andrea, I meant what I said. I can save your sister. When the world first went to shit, I was attacked by a walker. Turned out that the walker had been a werewolf before the person had been infected."

"You were bitten?" Andrea exclaimed, eyes searching him wildly. "But how are you still here, alive?"

"The werewolf virus is stronger than the walker virus," Harry explained. "Granted, I still had a high fever for a few days but I came out of it. Scared the hell out of Daryl but I was alive. I think Merle wanted to kill me at first too."

Andrea stared at him, eyes still wide. She was glancing at his paw every other second but she seemed... The fear that he could smell was decreasing. "Werewolves are real then?"

"Yes. And I could make your sister one if you want," Harry replied quietly. "Only if you want. I'm not gonna force the issue."

"What would you have to do?" Andrea asked, glancing from him to Amy. The sun had started to come up as they had talked, shining on them. Harry would have to clean up his hands sometime soon if he didn't want dried walker blood on him.

"I would have to change to my wolf form and bite her," Harry answered, smelling a fire start to burn up on the cliff. People had probably started to clean up the area, disposing of the walker bodies by burning them.

Andrea turned to glance at her sister for a minute then up at him.

"Make up your mind quickly. She doesn't have a lot of time, even with the-"

"Do it."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, already standing up and taking a step back. "This will be permanent."

"You'll help her with this."

Harry nodded vehemently though Andrea didn't look like she needed an answer. What she had said had come out like an order. "Of course. You have my word. I would never leave her alone to deal with this. You guys can come to me with any questions anyway."

"Do it then. I'm sure. I can't loose my sister."

"Okay. Just give me a minute. I'll recognize you when I'm... different. You and your sister will be pack."

"Like Daryl and Teddy are?" Andrea asked, a little hint of teasing coming into her voice.

"Daryl and Teddy are pack. But I love them differently seeing as how Daryl's my boyfriend and Teddy's my godson. Hold her down for me?"

Harry pulled on the wolf part of him, hearing it howl in his mind. He removed the medical stasis charm on Amy and watched Andrea move to tug her sister into her arms. Amy gasped for breath, staring at Andrea with anxious, pained eyes. The change flowed over him. Bones shifted and changed, fur grew over his body. It took a little over four minutes for the change to finally stop and Harry the wolf sat down on his haunches for a minute, just breathing.

He wagged his tail briefly then stood up to go stand over Amy's body. He stared into Andrea's eyes, which were wide. She was scared but not too terrorized. He supposed having dead come back to life had opened her eyes to anything then turned to focus on Amy, who had started to squirm around in Andrea's arms.

"Amy, it's okay," Andrea whispered. "It's okay. You're going to be fine."

"Andrea," Amy choked out, blood pouring from her wound again.

Andrea watched as the giant black wolf stared at her, as if he was was asking once more. She nodded, feeling Amy tremble in her arms.

"Do it," Andrea ordered. "I don't want to loose anyone else."

The wolf sniffed around Amy, moving to hover its massive mouth over Amy's uninjured side. Andrea watched as the wolf clamped its jaws over Amy's skin, breaking it, and she watched as blood started to flow from the wound. Amy shot up, or attempted to move away from his mouth but Andrea held her sister down, ready to see this through. She watched as the wolf held on for a few more seconds then disengaged slowly as if he had tried to be very gentle.

"Andrea? Harry?"

Andrea felt it as Amy passed out and hurriedly put two fingers to Amy's neck and sighed in relief as she felt a pulse. It was slow and weak but it was there. She finally relaxed, more or less, then turned to see who had come down to the quarry.

Daryl was walking toward them, eyes on the massive wolf. Andrea could see that the wolf also had eyes only for Daryl, even trotting over to meet him. Daryl reached down to pet the animal as they ran into each other and Andrea could see the wolf's ears perk up. Its' tail started to wag even more.

"Amy get bit?" Daryl asked as he came closer. The wolf paced alongside Daryl, turned to stare at Andrea and Amy.

"Yes. But Harry suggested..." Andrea trailed off.

"He suggested making her one of those?" Daryl asked, pointing at the wolf. The wolf sat down on its haunches and stared up at Daryl, began to pant. To Andrea, it almost looked like the wolf was smiling.

"Yeah. You know?"

"'Course I know. I watched him get bit," Daryl said.

"Harry told me," Andrea explained, shaking her head a little. "I didn't think what he was telling me was true."

Daryl snorted. "Do ya believe now?"

"Yeah. Will it really... Amy will live?" Andrea asked, still not quite sure.

"Look at him," Daryl remarked, staring down at the wolf, who had gone to the water's edge and stuck his whole mouth in the water. "He's alive."

"He's not... different?"

"He's more protective over his kid," Daryl grumbled then sighed. "Dale's missing you and your sister. You should get back'ta camp."

"What should I say?" Andrea asked, attempting to lift Amy up.

"I'll do the explainin'," Daryl said, walking over and scooping Amy up. "Besides, everyone'll be more focused on the wolf walking alongside us."

Andrea laughed a little as the wolf trotted back to them and stood beside Daryl, looking a little proud of himself.

"Yeah, you stay a wolf and leave the talkin' to us," Daryl said, rolling his eyes. "You could change back, you know."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Italics are flashbacks.

* * *

Harry trotted next to Daryl as they walked back up the hill to get back to the camp. Andrea was walking on the other side of Daryl, frequently glancing at Amy. Andrea's sister was slowly but surely starting to heal already. Harry could smell that much and the tiny little whiff of walker scent that had been on her before he had bitten her was gone. Amy would have a tough few days ahead of her but she would live.

He glanced up at Daryl and then at Andrea and huffed out a sigh. He stopped and started to shift back, knowing as much that Daryl still wasn't too comfortable confronting people. It was a few slow minutes before he was back to two legs. Andrea and Daryl had stopped to watch him and now he stared at them, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what it's going to be like for Amy?" Andrea asked, coming up to him.

"Yeah, though she'll be more... energetic and distressed for the first couple of days," Harry explained. "She'll be able to smell a lot better, hear a lot better, move quicker, see better... All of her senses will be doubled now and she'll need to learn control."

"Control?" Andrea repeated.

Daryl strode over to, handing Amy to him. Harry nodded, grinned briefly, leaned forward to place a kiss on Daryl's forehead then reached to take Amy from him.

Daryl blushed then headed off to join the group in cleaning up.

"Control to not shift any second," Harry continued, propping Amy's head up onto his shoulder. "I'll help her through it then the next full moon is... in a week or two? Yeah, two weeks."

"Full moon? So the werewolf myths are true?"

"Eh, it depends on what you've heard or read," Harry replied as they continued up the hill. He could hear people walking around and hushed chatter, along with machetes being used.

"Silver?" Andrea asked, as they made it back to the camp.

"Dad!"

"Teddy!" Harry said, bracing himself as his godson raced up to him and wrapped his arms around his legs. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I stayed with Carl and Sophia," Teddy replied, peering up at him then glancing at Andrea. "That's what you and Daryl said I should do."

"And that is exactly right," Harry responded, glancing over at Rick and Lori then over at Shane. The two former police officers were helping everyone carry bodies over to a fire pit to burn. Glenn and Daryl were dragging the bodies of dead members of the group over to a separate place. Probably to wait to be buried in the graves that Jim had dug yesterday.

"Did you shift?" Teddy asked, staring at Amy and pulling back from Harry a little. "Is she a wolf now?"

Harry nodded and turned to look at Andrea. "Silver works on us. But I haven't encountered silver in a long time. I need to go help with cleanup. Is it okay if I drop Amy off at the RV?"

"Yeah, I'll stay with her. Is she going to wake up soon?" Andrea questioned, peering behind him at something and scowling.

"Was Amy bitten?!"

"No, Shane. She wasn't bitten," Harry replied, turning around to face the other man. "She wasn't bitten. This was the result of her getting pushed to the ground. I got to her in time."

Shane stared at the three of them, raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Harry could feel Daryl's eyes on them and subtly shook his head.

"I am quite sure," Harry replied. "Now, if I may, I'm going to drop Amy off in the RV and go help. I'll tend her injury afterward."

"You're a doctor?" Rick asked, coming up to stand next to Shane.

"Of sorts," Harry answered.

"What exactly does that mean?" Shane asked, narrowing his eyes.

"It means I'm a nurse. Never finished the training to be a doctor," Harry replied, starting to walk around the two men. "Teddy, Andrea, come on."

"Would you be willing to look other people over?" Rick asked.

"Is anyone else injured?" Harry asked, giving the two men a quick once over look. He didn't really smell any other injuries but his sense of smell was rather 'clogged' right now, what with the multiple walker bodies and blood strewn over the ground. If this hadn't been the first major fight with walkers that he had been in, he probably would have puked by now. Or if this had been his first major battle, period.

"I don't believe so but perhaps in the future?"

"Yeah, sure. I might have unusual methods though," Harry replied then headed up into the RV. He heard Teddy and Andrea follow him into the back of the vehicle where he settled Amy onto the camp bed. He looked her over, nodded and turned to glance at Andrea, who had sat down next to her sister.

"Let me know if anything changes," Harry remarked. "Her... Both the bite wounds ought to close up and heal soon enough. She'll have a fever starting in an hour or so."

"Anything else I should keep an eye out for?" Andrea asked, going to hold Amy's hand and smoothing her hair back from her forehead.

"Nope. If she wakes up, try to get her back to sleep," Harry answered. "It'll go easier if she's asleep for this."

"She'll really-"

"Jim's been bitten!"

Teddy stiffened and Harry scooped him up into his arms, feeling him start to tremble a little. He laid a kiss on his head of light brown hair, rubbed soothing circles on his back. "You tired, cub?"

"Yeah, 'm sleepy," Teddy said, yawning. "And it smells bad here."

"Stay awake for an hour or so more?" Harry asked, as Teddy burrowed into him, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Yep," Teddy muttered. "I'm staying here."

Harry chuckled quietly. "You mean RV or in my arms?"

"RV. It doesn't smell that bad in here," Teddy replied.

"Alright then. Will you stay with Andrea?"

"Yeah."

Harry lowered Teddy down and watched as he snuggled into the bed over Amy. "I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay."

"So... Jim's been bit?" Harry asked, walking over to stand next to Daryl, who glanced at him.

"You can't save him now, can ya?" Daryl said back, staring at Jim, who was standing in the middle of the circle. The rest of the camp was staring at Jim. Jacqui had apparently been the one to notice Jim's injury, staring at him accusingly. Daryl had his crossbow loosely pointed at Jim.

"No. It needs to be right at the time of infection," Harry whispered then sighed. "I'm also not going to go around biting people willy-nilly."

Daryl raised an eyebrow, turned back to look at him.

"What if someone I bite goes... rogue, looses control, or worse?" Harry asked quietly. "I'm not taking the risk. Not now. Though I had made the offer to you, remember?"

"Ain't forgotten it," Daryl replied. "Your reasons make enough sense. Does he smell like one of them?"

Harry took a step forward, closer to Jim but still keeping his distance. There was a scent coming off the man not unlike the smells coming from the dead walker bodies. "Yeah, only a little though. Suspect it'll get worse with time."

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Rick asked, gesturing to Jim.

"No. I've tried," Harry answered, glancing at Rick and Shane. "Nothing works when someone gets bit."

"You said you had unusual methods?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, those don't work either. Whatever it is, it's damn stubborn," Harry replied thoughtfully, shaking his head. "I can however, give him something to help with the pain that's coming."

* * *

_Harry slowly woke up, opened his eyes and stretched only to realize he was in a hospital. He narrowed his eyes when he tried to remember how he had gotten here. It was all a blank then... _

_ "Oh, I remember..." Harry trailed off, voice hoarse. __He remembered a man with __short,__light brown hair, talking with him after he had apparated out of the __trap__ and that was it. He must have brought him in. _

_ Machines started to beep around him and he sighed. He had bad memories of hospitals, regardless of whether or not they were magical hospitals. A nurse came in and looked him over, glancing at his clipboard occasionally._

_ "Excuse me?" Harry asked, voice a little hoarse. He didn't know how long it had been since he had landed in the middle of nowhere and he didn't remember waking up to drink or eat. _

_ The nurse started a little, eyes widening, then smiled. "Oh, you're awake. I'll go get the doctor. He'll check you out."_

_ Harry nodded slowly. "Do you know who brought me in? I don't... remember anything after I passed out."_

_ The nurse raised an eyebrow, walked up to the side of the bed. "You're British."_

_ "Yeah, what's that have to do with anything?" Harry enquired._

_ The nurse blinked. "You're a long way from home. But I believe it was Daryl Dixon who brought you in. Quite a surprise for all of us really when he came in carrying you."_

_ "Why would it have been a surprise?" Harry asked as the nurse took his pulse._

_ "Well," the nurse started, glancing at him then back out the doorway briefly then turned to look at him. "He never liked hospitals. Least of all when one of his teachers brought him in when he was younger. The Dixons as a family never come in to the hospital voluntarily. Suspect they don't trust us as it's the same way for the police when they get called over there."_

_ Harry stared at her then sighed, feeling his chest and side ache from where the curses had hit him. Luckily, the curses hadn't been that bad. None of their intended results would have looked like something unnatural. Otherwise that would have been hard to explain his way out of. He watched as the nurse listed off his injuries, putting them to memory and then she left the room. _

_ His injuries weren't that bad as to make him stay in a muggle hospital, at least right now. Plus, he still had to put his plans in motion in Britain. So he gingerly sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, planting his feet on the floor to test them. He glanced at the door then at the windows, saw no one coming right now then conjured some loose pants, a shirt, socks and some shoes. He slowly put them on, minding his hurt body. He stood on them for a minute then stood all the way up, swayed for a minute and murmured the incantation for apparition._

_ He landed right where he had passed out and started to search around for his wand, lightly touching the trees around him when he needed the support. It was windy now, fall slowly morphing into winter in Georgia. He knew Hermione would chew him out for not staying in the hospital but he couldn't stay in the muggle hospital when his wounds would have slowly healed, instinctual magic knitting them together. He had long ago thought that he would have died from his aunt and uncle's 'care' of him had it not been for his magic. And his magic had continued to do whatever it could to keep him alive._

_ Harry glanced around for a few minutes then stopped and sighed, startling at a noise behind him. He turned only to come face to face with Daryl again. The other man stared at him, a crossbow slung across his back and a line of... squirrels hanging around his shoulder._

_ "Uh, hi?" Harry started._

_ "You're supposed'ta be in the hospital," Daryl muttered, not meeting Harry's eyes._

_ "Thanks," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. _

_ Daryl looked up at him, more than a little wary. "For what?"_

_ "You got me to the hospital. In time I suspect," Harry explained hesitantly, reaching out a hand behind him to prop himself up. "Thanks for that."_

_ Daryl nodded and started to turn around._

_ "Wait! You wouldn't have happened to see a stick near me when you found me, would you?" Harry asked, raising his voice to be heard over the wind. However hard it was to hear over the wind, Harry distinctly saw the full body flinch from Daryl when Harry raised his voice. It was small but Daryl had definitely reacted to the loud voice. Harry automatically lowered his voice, hoping that his hunch as to why Daryl had flinched and as to why Daryl had been brought in to see a doctor during school was wrong. Harry himself had used to startle at loud noises and voices too._

_ "A stick?" Daryl repeated, turning to face him again. "Ya do realize where we are."_

_ Harry snorted. "It would be carved and smooth, not like regular old twigs."_

_ Daryl stared at him for a second then pulled something out of a pocket in his vest. "Would this be what're looking for?"_

_ Harry started and padded forward carefully. Daryl was holding his wand in his hand and already Harry could feel the wand's magic calling out to him. "Yeah, that's it. Where did you find it?"_

_ "Thought it looked nice," Daryl mumbled, holding it out to him. "What is it?"_

_ "It's..." Harry trailed off, peering into Daryl's blue eyes. He reached out to grasp his wand and tucked it into a pocket. "It's special to me. That's all. Thanks."_

* * *

Harry stood alongside the others, Teddy in his arms. His godson was almost asleep, nestled into his arms. Daryl was standing next to him as they stood in silence for a few minutes over the graves of the ones who had died in the fight. Carl was standing in front of Lori with their father standing next to them. T-Dog, Glenn, Jacqui, Dale, Morales and his family and Andrea were spread out around the graves.

They had stayed silent for a few minutes to honor the dead. Harry sighed, leaned into Daryl slightly. He felt the other man take his weight, almost relaxing at having both Harry and Teddy close by. Harry was just as exhausted as Teddy was. Shifting into his wolf form and back to his human form took a lot of energy and he had already been tired from protecting the camp too.

"Ya think the CDC is good then?" Daryl whispered as the group broke up. "You can't save Jim."

"I know that," Harry murmured, swiping a hand across his forehead to get rid of the sweat. "Maybe they held out though? You heard what Rick was saying."

"Your stuff packed?" Daryl asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, it's all in the truck," Harry replied, feeling Daryl's arm go around his waist as all of the people left the clearing. Harry sighed contentedly. "You're taking Merle's bike, right?"

"Course," Daryl answered, peering at Teddy who was now completely asleep. "He okay?"

"As okay as we all are," Harry commented.


	5. Chapter 5

As they were getting ready to go, their relative peace was broken by yelling. Harry turned around, wincing when he heard Shane's voice and Andrea's. The two were just walking out of the RV and Shane was shouting at Andrea. Daryl exchanged a look with Harry, raised an eyebrow. Harry's wolf snarled in his mind as it had quickly adjusted to having Andrea and Amy as pack. And now that Shane was yelling at Andrea, for whatever reason, the wolf wanted to shift and growl with canine vocal cords instead of weak human ones.

"What the fuck are you shouting for?" Harry exclaimed, lowering Teddy to the ground as he started to wake up.

"Uncle, why are you yelling at Shane?" Teddy sleepily asked, looking up at Harry then going over to wrap his arms around Daryl's legs. Daryl coughed a little, peered down at Teddy then scooped him up and Teddy yelped quietly but grinned.

Shane glared at him. "You lied! Amy was bit! She has a fever!"

Harry narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, glancing at Andrea, who shrugged.

"She was bit," Harry finally replied as their argument drew Rick, Glenn, Dale, and T-Dog.

"I knew something was off about you," Shane accused, fingers on his shotgun whitening out of the tight grip he had on it. "You being with Daryl was just another hint that were a-"

"I'm a what, Shane?" Harry repeated, close to growling. "I lied to protect Amy. Did you see a bite mark on her body? Or did you just see that she had a fever?"

"I was checking on Jim," Shane snapped out. "I saw Amy lying on the bed with a bite wound!"

"That bite wound was from a wolf," Harry said, raising his voice. He knew that the bite from the walker had slowly healed already as it had been a few hours since he had bitten Amy as a wolf. "Not a walker! She's fine."

"A wolf?" Shane repeated, narrowing his eyes. "There was no wolf in the camp in the last few hours."

Andrea snorted then turned to look at Harry, unsure whether or not to reveal his secret.

"I saw a wolf," Daryl broke in, shrugging his crossbow over his shoulder.

"Did you now?" Shane asked, raising an eyebrow. "And we're going to assume a wolf bit her just because you saw one?"

"Shane..." Rick said, trailing off. "Leave it be. If they say that Amy was bitten by a wolf then she was."

"I saw her get bit by that walker," Shane insisted. "At the start of the attack. She was bit by a walker!"

Harry sighed, glanced at Daryl, who nodded at him. "Look, Amy does have a fever because she was bit by a wolf. That is true. Your guess that Amy was bit by a walker... also true."

Shane's eyes widened.

"However, we don't need to worry about her like we need to worry about Jim," Harry continued, voice still raised. "Let Andrea and I worry about her sister. She won't turn."

"I believe you," Rick said, glancing between Harry, Shane, Andrea and Daryl. "However, Shane said she had a fever."

Harry reached a hand behind him, focused on changing it into a paw. "Any of you heard of werewolves?"

"I read a comic about werewolves once," Carl spoke, walking over to them. Lori followed him, trying to dissuade her son from going over to them. "They were ugly. Lots of hair around their bodies and heads."

Daryl snorted, shuffled over to Harry's side. "He's certainly not ugly."

Harry chuckled. "I'm glad you think so."

Daryl blushed a little but continued to glare at Shane.

Shane stared at the two of them, slightly raising his gun. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means this," Harry said, drawing his hand, paw, back from behind him.

Shane paled and Harry heard a few people gasp. Lori gasped and drew Carl away from the group.

"What the fuck are you?" Shane shouted.

"Hold on here. Let's not get too loud," Rick started, moving to stand in the center of the group. "Harry, what are you?"

"A werewolf. Though Carl, I'm not like the ones in your comic books," Harry said, smiling a little.

"Ain't gonna hurt anyone too," Daryl said, the hand not holding Teddy going to his crossbow.

Andrea nodded, also moving to stand next to Harry. "He saved my sister's life. We're not killing him or my sister."

"We're not killing anyone," Rick remarked, his right hand on his pistol. "Shane..."

"You believe that?" Shane exclaimed, staring at Rick then glaring at Harry. "You're a freak!"

Harry paled but refused to back down. He had done enough of that back when he was younger. Daryl flinched, lowered Teddy gently to the ground who went over to Andrea, and swung his crossbow to aim at Shane.

"Daryl..." Harry said quietly, changing his hand back to a human hand in full view of the group.

"You ain't a freak," Daryl muttered, glaring at Shane.

"Awesome."

Harry turned to look at where Carl was, right behind Lori, and snorted.

"Does this mean that Amy is... what you are?" Rick asked, looking at Shane then to Harry.

"Yep," Andrea answered. "As I said before, Harry saved her life. I'll take care of her."

"As long as you're sure she won't turn..." Rick said, trailing off. "Let's get going then. We're losing light as it is."

* * *

After Harry got Jim to drink a potion to ease pain, he went to talk with Andrea.

"Andrea, which vehicle do you two want to go in?" Harry asked as everyone slid into their chosen cars. He could feel eyes on him and he turned to glare at Shane, who scowled at him.

Andrea turned to look up at him from sitting by Amy on the bed. "You're going in Daryl's truck, right?"

"Yeah. I think it's big enough for you two if you don't want to put up with staring," Harry explained.

"We'll be fine here," Andrea said, wiping Amy's sweaty forehead with a cloth. "Is there anything I should look out for with her?"

"She'll probably stay asleep for the rest of the day," Harry said. "Maybe for tomorrow too. We'll see."

"If she does wake up though?"

"She'll wake up anxious and panicky," Harry answered, leaning against the cabinets of the RV. "Her senses will have doubled so talk quietly to her. You can explain what happened. I'll know when she wakes up so I'll come over to the RV and talk with her."

"Okay," Andrea replied distractedly. "Thanks."

Harry nodded then strode out of the RV with one last glare at Shane, padded over to the truck. The bike was already in the truck bed as Harry had levitated it up before going to talk to Andrea. Daryl and Teddy were in the cab, Teddy sitting in the middle. Harry slid in and closed the door and Teddy instantly slid toward him, leaning against his side.

The RV drove out first, leading the way, with Glenn, Dale, T-Dog, Andrea, Amy, Jacqui and Jim in it. Then Rick, Lori, Carl, Sophia and Carol in the smaller caravan went second. Shane in his jeep drove out after and Daryl, Harry, and Teddy right afterward. Morales and his family drove out last, turning in the other direction, heading toward family.

* * *

"What happened in Atlanta?" Harry asked quietly, twenty minutes into the drive. Teddy had fallen asleep against him a few minutes ago.

Daryl turned to glance at Harry then kept his gaze on the road in front of them. "He wasn't there."

"Rick and T-Dog said he had been handcuffed to the pipe," Harry commented. "How..."

"He must'a cut his hand off," Daryl said. "There was a hand left on the roof."

"So he... that's..." Harry trailed off, wincing a little. He didn't think much of Merle except for what he did that one night seven months ago before everything went to shit. He knew that Daryl still loved him despite their childhood. "Did you track him anywhere then?"

"Tracked him a few blocks. Didn't find much," Daryl answered. "'Cept a blood trail."

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured, stretching his shoulders a little and relaxing just a tiny amount. "I know he left again."

* * *

AN: Happy holidays!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: As always with this story, italics are flashbacks.

* * *

"_Dad?"_

_ "Yeah, Teddy?" Harry said, turning to glance back to the back seat. Teddy was staring out the window, eying their new home._

_ "Why here?"_

_ "We're here because..." Harry trailed off, a certain image of a crossbow wielding man with blue eyes coming to mind. He blushed a little then shook his head. Daryl probably already had someone. "I grew to like Atlanta when I came here a few months ago for a job? It has a lot fewer wizards for one."_

_ "__Is there a school nearby?" Teddy asked, turning back to look at Harry. "Like Hogwarts?"_

_ "Possibly. I'll look into it. And in the meantime, I need to register with the American Wizarding Government."_

_ Harry drove out of Atlanta, watching the various houses go by. He had already bought a home on the outskirts of Atlanta, a small two bedroom cabin with a small forest behind it. He really didn't want to attract any attention from non-magical people. Harry wanted to relax and raise Teddy, not get caught up in more wizarding drama._

_ "If there's not a school nearby," Harry started as he turned down a driveway off the highway. "You can take the floo over to Hogwarts or over to the one in New York."_

_ Teddy nodded, clutching his backpack in his hands. "Will there be room to practice flying?"_

_ Harry chuckled. "You're only 10. Flying will come later."_

_ "Ahhh, but dad!" Teddy exclaimed, pouting a little. "You started at 11."_

_ "__Okay, okay, I'll go back to Atlanta after we're unpacked and pick up a practice broom. How about that?"_

_ "Yay!"_

* * *

_"Dad, can we go to the diner for dinner?" Teddy asked as he flicked his practice wand around the house. It shot out sparks as Teddy said one of the spells that Harry had already taught him. One of the pillows on the couch lifted up in the air and Teddy laughed. The American wizarding government was surprisingly enough, a lot less strict on underage magic, especially for children that hadn't yet attended school. Practice wands were sold easily enough in the different wizarding alleys across the States._

_ "Why are you asking?"_

_ "I want a cheeseburger," Teddy said, flicking his wand to cancel the spell._

_ Harry raised an eyebrow, smiling a little at Teddy being able to float things in the air already. "A cheeseburger, huh?"_

_ "Yes," Teddy stated, peering up at him._

_ "Alright," __Harry replied. "Car or broomstick?"_

_ Teddy raised an eyebrow, appearing to study him. "Broomstick."_

* * *

_ "Just two?" the waitress asked, handing Harry a menu and Teddy a children's menu. She smiled at Harry, flicked a hand through her hair. "Aren't you two the family who moved into that cabin on the outskirts of town?"_

_ Harry started at her question, studying her for a second before sighing. "Yeah, that's us."_

_ The woman stared at him then shrugged. _

_ "Aren't you a cute thing?" She asked, peering at Teddy, who smiled at her. _

_ "I'm ten!" Teddy said. _

_ "Oh, you're already old! Wow!" the woman exclaimed, smiling. _

_ Teddy giggled and Harry breathed a sigh of relief remembering that he had in fact given Teddy another potion to control his changing abilities. _

_ "Yes. It's just the two of us," Harry answered, ignoring the woman's attempts to flirt. "Thanks."_

_The woman__ nodded. "I'll be right back to take your orders."_

* * *

_ "__Dad, when are you going to fall in love with someone?"_

_ Harry spluttered, dropping his fork on the plate of food he was working through. Teddy was staring at him then occasionally staring at the waitress who had been watching them. "Uhhh."_

_ Teddy tilted his head then glanced over at the door when the bell over it rang. He turned back to Harry, apparently finding whoever just came in to be not a big deal. "Dad?"_

_ "__Since when are you asking about that sort of thing?" Harry asked, looking over at the door out of the corner of his eyes._

_ "Since all of my friends have two parents," Teddy replied hesitantly._

_ Harry raised an eyebrow. "__Just because I'm a single father doesn't-"_

_ "I've heard things," Teddy interrupted._

_ "At daycare?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes._

_ Teddy nodded. "The teachers say stuff."_

_ "And what kind of stuff?" Harry asked, eyes widening when he peered over to the kitchen. His eyes caught the familiar blue eyed gaze of Daryl Dixon, who appeared to be staring at him in return and occasionally glancing at Teddy. Daryl was sitting next to __another man, who seemed to be related. The two of them looked like brothers. __They were both wearing loose, dirty clothing with torn holes in the pants.__ The other guy was talking loudly with another guy a few seats down from them._

_ "What'd I tell you? Ryan's a thief!"_

_ The other guy narrowed his eyes at Daryl's brother. "Don't you say that about my friend!"_

_ "...Dad?"_

_ Harry drew his gaze away from what was very likely to become a fight and back to Teddy._

_ "Just ignore them, Teddy," Harry said, closing his eyes briefly. "I've dealt with people gossiping behind my back for a long time."_

_ Harry heard a crash and turned to see that Daryl's brother and the other guy had gotten up off their seats and were advancing on each other. He distinctly heard one of the customers in the diner mutter something about Merle __Dixon__ being at it again. Harry figured that that was the name of Daryl's brother. _

_ "What if other kids are saying stuff too?" Teddy asked. "Can't I..."_

_ Harry narrowed his eyes at his godson. "You haven't brought your practice... wand to daycare, have you?"_

_ Teddy shook his head, picked up a bite of his cheeseburger again. "No, that's what you told me not to do. __Besides, I only know a few spells.__"_

_Harry snorted at Teddy's frown, glancing up at Daryl's brother and the other guy. They were about to punch each other when the owner of the diner came out and pointed at the door._

_ Harry looked over at Daryl who was watching his brother and just for a second, Harry could have sworn Daryl had glanced over to him briefly. Then Harry watched as Daryl followed his brother out of the diner, having left their halfway eaten dinner. _

_ The diner was quiet for a few minutes after the three men left. Teddy was staring after the men with wide eyes. Their __waitress__ came over to them, raising an eyebrow at the two Dixons who were now outside. _

_ "Those damn rednecks," __their waitress__ muttered, turning back to look at Harry. "Merle's the worst, if you ask me."_

_ Harry turned to look out the window as Merle and the unnamed guy started to go at it. "So is Merle..."_

_ "Yeah, he's Daryl's brother. The Dixons don't come around here often as it is," their waitress said, wrinkling her nose. "Henry's calling the cops right now."_

_ "Dad, what does redneck mean?" Teddy asked, peering up at him and the waitress._

_ Harry sighed, ran a hand through his hair and glanced outside to where the fight had drawn an audience. He could just barely see Daryl inside the circle of people and the man wasn't even trying to stop his brother._

_ "It's a derogatory term," Harry answered. "__Often for poor white country people."_

_ "__Oh. Dad, couldn't you stop that fight?" Teddy asked, swallowing the last bite of burger._

_ "I suppose."_

_Their waitress__ shook her head. "Don't even try. Merle's been known to 'accidentally' punch people when they try to intervene. It's usually on purpose if it's the police. Would you like a box for that?"_

_ Harry nodded. "Yeah, thanks. I'll finish it at home. Come on, Teddy."_

_ Teddy slid out of the booth, hands going into his pockets. The two of them waited for Harry's box of food, paid the bill then left, steering clear of the fight. _

_ "Redneck is also like people from home calling non-magical folk mudblood," Harry remarked as they stopped right after the restaurant. Harry could hear police sirens racing over here and he glanced back at the fight. Now he couldn't see Daryl at all and the sounds he could hear were more than a little worrying._

_ Teddy gasped, peering up at Harry. "That's horrible!"_

_ Harry smiled worriedly. "Yeah."_

_ "Aunt Hermione wouldn't ever like that, would she?" Teddy asked as some of the witnesses to the fight shuffled over closer to the two of them. Harry steered Teddy closer to him, hand going to his wand._

_ "No, she wouldn't. Teddy, would you stay here?" Harry asked as the police cars drove up and parked._

_ Teddy stared at him, nodded. "You're going to go help?"_

_ "If I can," Harry replied. "I don't want to draw __too much__ attention to us. Stay here."_

_ Harry waited until Teddy agreed then started to wade in, using little __stinging__ hexes to get people to move. He dimly heard startled yelps and people starting to yell at other people. He rolled his eyes and continued to move, using a little more firm __stinging hexes when people refused to move. He could see four police officers start to wade in as well, using __just their bodies__ to shoulder people out of the way._

* * *

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Andrea?" Harry said, turning to look at her as they all shuffled back to the cars. They had just left Jim under a tree and the man had been pale, sweating and somewhat lucid. Harry had given him one last potion to help with the pain and then walked back to stand next to Daryl and Teddy.

"I think Amy's waking up," Andrea answered, glancing at Shane a little worriedly before straightening and looking at Harry.

"Okay, um, I'll ride in the RV with you guys the rest of the way," Harry said. "Let me just talk to Daryl and Teddy."

Andrea shook her head. "I didn't mean that you had ride in the RV with us."

"I need to be there for Amy. She'll be all disoriented with all the new smells and scents," Harry explained.

"Alright. I'll wait for you there."

Harry nodded and went over to stand in front of his godson and his boyfriend. Daryl raised an eyebrow. "She waking up?"

"Yeah..."

Daryl nodded, made a little shooing motion with his hands. "Go on. I know you need to stay with her. I'll look after the little one."

"Hey!" Teddy exclaimed indignantly, peering up at both of them.

Harry chuckled and Daryl snorted.

"Yep. You're quite tall for a 12 year old," Harry remarked, rubbing his forehead. "I remember Remus being tall. You could grow to be as tall as Daryl if..."

Harry sighed, took a deep breath and realized there was a walker not too far off from their group. It was too far away for it to be a serious threat right now, but it reminded him that this wasn't the world of a few years ago. He was a werewolf and the dead had risen. If... This was a different world now and he realized Daryl was staring at him. Harry raised an eyebrow and the other man nodded, as if he knew what Harry was thinking.

Teddy grinned.

"We're just about to take off."

Harry glanced over to see Rick coming over to them. "Yeah, we're just switching cars. I need to go take care of Amy."

Rick nodded. "I still don't understand much but thanks."

Harry exchanged a glance with Daryl then raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Saving Amy. Andrea loves her sister and she would have been devastated to loose her," Rick replied.

"Your welcome," Harry responded, watching the ex-police officer walk back to the car that he was driving.

"Teddy, I want you to stay with Daryl, okay?" Harry asked. "I need to go-"

"Yeah, she's waking up," Teddy said. "Can't I join you?"

"She'll be anxious as it is," Harry answered, shaking his head. "And you smell of wolf too much for new werewolves."

Teddy frowned, glanced up at Daryl and reached up with a hand. Daryl grinned a little hesitantly and reached a hand down, leading Teddy back to their truck.

* * *

Harry sat down next to Amy, wand in his pocket, as the younger woman squirmed around for a few minutes. Amy was pale and there was sweat all over her forehead and her face. Harry glanced over at Andrea as the RV started to move. Then he drew his wand and quietly muttered a cleaning charm, watching the sweat and dried blood vanish from Amy's face, shoulder and blond hair. He also cast a silencing ward around the three of them to keep Shane, Glenn and Dale from listening in on them.

Andrea's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. "Amy?"

Amy groaned, turned onto her back and her eyes fluttered open. "...Andrea?"

"Amy!" Andrea said, quiet joy in her voice.

"I... what happened?" Amy asked, looking at Amy then over at Harry, who was sitting on the seat across from them. "I remember... I..."

Amy stiffened, her eyes widening. She sat up slowly and looked down at her shoulder. "What happened to me?"

"Amy, do you remember what happened last night?" Harry asked gently.

"Walkers attacked the camp... and I..." Amy slid back against the car window. "I got attacked! How am I still alive? Andrea? Harry? What happened?"

Harry watched as Amy took a deep breath and her eyes widened even more.

"I can smell sweat..." Amy whispered, glancing between the two of them. "And... Andrea? I can smell something coming off you..."

"Amy, you did get attacked," Andrea started. "By a walker."

Amy gasped, turning to face Andrea then looked at Harry. "Then how? How am I still..."

"Amy, do you remember a wolf?" Harry asked. "At all?"

Amy stared at him, glanced at Andrea then back at him. "I... yeah? What... It bit me..."

Harry nodded. "The way you can smell new things and see better... You're not a walker."

Amy blinked. "Then what am I?"

"Werewolf. You're a werewolf," Harry explained. "And so am I."

"I'm a what now?" Amy questioned, looking between Andrea and Harry with wide eyes.

"That wolf you remembered... The black one," Harry continued, shifting one of his hands right before Amy and Andrea's eyes. "That was me."

Amy stared at his hand, the one that had changed into a big black paw, then looked back up into his eyes. "You mean... werewolves are real?"

"Yeah. Andrea asked me to save you last night," Harry answered, changing his paw back into a hand. "So I changed and bit you."

"Andrea?" Amy turned to look at her sister, her eyes still wide. Her skin was still pale but Harry could see color returning to her face.

"I couldn't loose you," Andrea said, placing her hand on one of Amy's hands. "Not you."

Amy nodded and took another deep breath, looking over to Harry before looking at Andrea. "What's that smell? It smells... like how anxiety could smell."

Harry snorted, saw that Glenn and Shane were occasionally glancing back at them. "You're smelling emotions. Your nose is now strong enough to smell emotions and is much better than a human nose."

Amy's eyes widened a little more. "I'm really part wolf?"

"It was the only thing that could save you from becoming a walker," Harry said sadly. "I... didn't get to you two soon enough. And I didn't smell the walkers before they came."

Andrea and Amy both looked at him. Amy narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't your fault."

"The walkers came from downwind," Harry muttered. "I didn't smell them in time."

"Amy getting attacked wasn't your fault," Andrea said.

"It was my fault," Amy whispered.

Both Harry and Andrea narrowed their eyes.

"That was not your fault," Harry stated. "If you want to place blame, blame the walkers. Not yourself."

"You couldn't have seen them," Andrea said, shrugging a little. "Now, you will be able to. Won't she?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, glancing out the front window. They were getting closer to Atlanta, if the number of empty and abandoned cars were any indication. They were driving on the main highway and had passed a lot of abandoned homes on the way. "The full moon is a week and a half away so you shouldn't need to shift until then."

"Full moon?" Amy asked, eyes wide again.

Harry nodded. "Yep. That part of any werewolf myth is true. We'll need to shift then. Now, we don't have to."

"How do I stop smelling lots of things?" Amy said. "It's getting a bit much."

"Close your eyes," Harry murmured, waiting for Amy to close her eyes before talking again. "Relax as much as you can. Deep breath."

"What's with the purple shimmering thing going around us?" Amy asked, after taking a deep breath. The RV turned right off the highway, which probably meant they were close to the CDC. Harry watched as Shane stood up and walked over to stand next to Dale, as he drove. "I can smell something coming off of it."

Harry stared at Amy and Andrea, both of them looking at him. "I'm not just a werewolf."

He could see dead walkers in the cars that were abandoned along the highway turn off. If any of the RV's windows had been open, it would probably smell really bad. As it was, the RV smelled like sweat, fear, illness and a little of death from Jim being kept in here for a day. Death and decay were sprawling all around them and it never stopped. As far as Harry could see and from what Lori and Shane described when they had first got the camp together, Atlanta had been hit hard. Harry, Teddy, Daryl and Merle hadn't been anywhere near Atlanta when it had gotten napalmed but even in this area where it hadn't gotten bombed, it still looked awful.


	7. Chapter 7

"Daryl, Harry, cover the rear!" Shane yelled as the group hesitantly strode into the CDC. Harry took his hand away from his nose where he had to pinch it shut to keep from smelling the stench of death that smothered the area. The military blockade around the building had fallen and soldiers lay where they had died, bloody and in pain. He could see Amy shudder when they had first seen the many bodies and when they had thankfully seen the door open, the young woman had grinned in relief. If she had been a wolf right now, her tail would have been wagging delightedly. As it was, he probably would have been in the same state too if he was on four legs. His own wolf was as content as it could be, as he hadn't been around another werewolf since Remus and Harry hadn't even been one himself.

Now he had a pack, regardless of the size. A pack that consisted of two werewolves, one half werewolf and two human.

"Dad, why didn't whoever was in there open the door when he saw us?" Teddy asked as they shuffled in last. The door closed behind them and that was when they all heard the sound of a gun's safety being turned off.

Harry exchanged a look with Daryl and saw the other man nod. Daryl raised his crossbow and steered Teddy behind them. Teddy yelped quietly but stayed behind them, well used to being told to stay where the two adults could protect him. Harry watched as Rick talked with the guy, asking the scientist to let them stay.

"People are probably scared," Harry whispered, turning his head to look at Teddy. "We're a big group with two police officers. Or former police officers, I should say."

"...You got stuff you need to bring in, do it now. These doors close, they stay closed."

* * *

"Blood test?" Amy repeated as they followed the scientist. Harry saw her glance at Andrea then fell behind to walk alongside Teddy and behind Harry and Daryl. "Wouldn't that... give away that we're not... human anymore?"

Harry nodded, hearing Teddy's stomach growl. He winced, stopped then scooped Teddy up. They hadn't had eaten since the day before and hopefully, the CDC would have some. "Hey, cub. You doing okay?"

Teddy nodded, yawning a little. "I'm hungry and tired."

"I know," Harry replied. "I'll go out and hunt if I have to."

"You go hunt, I'll go with you," Daryl muttered as they stopped and Dr. Jenner got the things he would need to take blood samples with. "I don't like this."

Harry turned to look at him. "We'll keep our eyes open then. Amy, I can make it so that our... conditions won't be noticed. Don't worry."

"You're going to have to tell us what else you are," Amy responded, catching his eye. "You can do other things that I don't think a werewolf can."

"And what makes you an expert on werewolves?" Daryl asked, smirking.

Andrea snorted.

Amy laughed, though it was just a little strained. Harry caught her eyes and tried to smile a little, smelling the stress coming off of the younger woman. "You feeling okay?"

"...I just feel a little… trapped," Amy replied quietly, eyes narrowing. The only people that heard her were her sister, Harry, and Daryl. "Is that… from being what I am now?"

"Yeah, I feel it too," Harry said. "I've never been this far underground but what with this being the CDC, I suppose it was to be expected. It smells like laboratories and blood, doesn't it?"

"That's what that metallic scent is? Blood?"

"Yep."

"Those other smells..." Amy trailed off, appearing to take a deep breath. "Whatever I smell is old. It kind of smells like… fear?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and then took a deep breath, seeing Teddy move on to follow Carl and Sophia. He was able to smell something that was possibly fear; the air did have an acrid scent that was filled with the smell of old sweat.

"The world did go to hell," Andrea broke in, as the group stopped behind the scientist and waited until he opened a door.

* * *

As Harry waited while the doctor prepared one of his arms, he looked the guy over. He smelled stress, obviously, and old panic, both emotions that had become the norm over the past few months. And there was the scent that had given him trouble ever since he had become a werewolf and ever since this thing had started. Each and every person smelled like the smallest amount of... He hated to say it but they smelled like death. It was only a small thing, one very minute scent but it gave him trouble.

"...Do you have a condition?" Dr. Jenner asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Condition?"

"I'm having a hard time getting a needle in," Dr. Jenner explained, glancing over at Amy. Daryl was standing up next to her, with Teddy holding his hand. "I had trouble with her too."

"No, I don't think I have a condition," Harry remarked idly. "Try it once more."

Dr. Jenner got the needle in once more, took a small amount of blood then stepped back. Andrea walked up and Harry was about to go back to stand next to Daryl when Andrea swayed. He reached out a hand to steady her as Jacqui came over too.

"Tired?" Dr. Jenner asked.

"We haven't eaten in a few days," Jacqui replied, looking Andrea over.

Dr. Jenner glanced around at the group then sighed. "Follow me."

* * *

"Dad, food!" Teddy exclaimed. "You don't have to go hunt!"

"It's great, I know," Harry replied, smiling at Teddy's delight and appreciating the fact that more and more, his godson was able to control his shape changing ability. "Make sure Sophia gets a plate, will you?"

"I will!"

Harry stood next to Daryl as they watched everyone get their own plates. Harry watched as Teddy helped Sophia and Carl get their own plates then the three of them went over to sit together at the table. "We're going to need to hunt more."

Daryl turned to look at him, crossbow slung across his shoulders.

Harry sighed, smiling at Carol gratefully as she handed them both plates with food. She had seemed to take his announcement that he was a werewolf with ease. He had figured that it was a product of having the dead walking the world now. Werewolves walking around might have seemed the less dangerous aspect of the two. "Teddy was just beginning to get hungry in the past few hours. I already saw Lori take less food amongst their family. I'm worried."

"We can hunt."

"Yeah, you're pretty good at the hunting thing. I'm grateful for that."

Daryl turned away just as Harry saw his ears pink up. Harry smiled and picked up his fork to start eating.

* * *

"Hot water?" Glenn repeated, turning back to look at the rest of the group.

Harry grinned and glanced down at himself. He hadn't had enough time or the energy to cast a cleaning charm on himself. Besides, it wasn't like the amount of dirt and blood on him really bothered him. That was one part of being a werewolf that he had discovered. The wolf in him actually reveled in it a little. But the human part of him definitely didn't like it. "Oooh. Teddy!"

Teddy groaned and turned questioning eyes up at Daryl.

"Do as your dad says," Daryl muttered.

Teddy sighed and nodded.

* * *

"I can watch over Teddy while you take a shower," Carol spoke as everyone started to make their way to the showers.

Harry stared at her and raised an eyebrow, keeping an eye on Teddy as he pulled off his shirt to shower. "Daryl can easily watch him. You don't have too."

"I don't mind," Carol replied.

"You sure?" Harry asked, taking note of where the archer was. "We might get… briefly preoccupied."

Carol smiled. "Go ahead."

"Thanks."

Carol nodded and started to herd the three children out of the room and back to the pseudo living room. Harry gestured for Teddy to go with her, said that he would be here if Teddy needed him and then strode over to an empty shower stall.

* * *

Once Harry was done with showering, which felt wonderful, he followed his nose to where his partner was. Teddy was still in the communal living room with Carol and the other kids but Daryl wasn't in the room that they had picked out. It wasn't that surprising as both of them were more than a little anxious. The explanation that Dr. Edwin Jenner had given them had dampened the atmosphere during dinner but most people in the group had seemed to think that they would be able to stay here.

Daryl was wandering through the building, ever present crossbow slung across his shoulder. Harry fell into step with him and took in their surroundings as they walked.

"What'd you smell?" Daryl eventually asked a few minutes later. "Same as the girl?"

"I do smell something. It could be fear, I suppose. There's blood too but this is the CDC. Blood's normal here, right?"

Daryl nodded. "Ya tried mirror callin' your friends yet?"

"I was going to try after Teddy fell asleep tonight," Harry remarked, stepping even closer to Daryl as they walked. "I don't… want him to get his hopes up. We've already lost so many people."

They finally stopped down the hallway from where they could hear the group. He pulled out his wand and cast a temporary ward around the two of them, making it so that no one could see them or hear them. Harry leaned against the wall, hearing Teddy laugh a little. "We should get some sleep tonight. No one will have to keep watch, hopefully."

Daryl snorted at the pointed look that Harry was giving him. "Your hearing that great?"

Harry smiled a little and reached out an arm to slowly curl around Daryl's waist, to bring him in closer. The other man swayed into Harry's arms, a little tentative still. "My hearing's alright so are my other senses. I just followed my nose to find you, didn't I?"

Daryl's ears pinked up a little as he leaned his forehead against Harry's. "Ain't that cheating?"

Harry snorted, used a hand to tip Daryl's chin up and leaned in to kiss him. The kiss started and stayed slow as they both took comfort from each other.

* * *

As soon as Teddy fell asleep on the couch in their room, Harry pulled out his mirror. Daryl was sitting next to him, head on Harry's shoulder. Harry cast another temporary ward, in an attempt to not wake up his godson. "Who're ya going to call first?"

"I think… Hermione. If she's still… alive, which she was last time I called her."

"A girl like her should," Daryl said. Both of them glanced at the door when they heard someone walking past their room. They exchanged looks then Daryl got up and poked his head out, looked around and went back to sit next to Harry. "It was Rick."

Harry grinned at Daryl's comment about Hermione then wrinkled his nose as the air from the hallway floated into their room. "I guess people drank a lot this evening."

"Didn't see you drink any."

"I just didn't want people to see you drink me under the table," Harry retorted.

Daryl snorted.

"It's also the werewolf thing," Harry added before picking up the mirror again. "Should have told Amy to not drink a lot. I'll tell her later."

He whispered Hermione's name then waited. And waited. Harry was about to give up, tears filling his eyes and blurring them when Daryl elbowed him. He swiped a hand over his eyes and realized the mirror was glowing.

"Hermione?!"

Hermione's familiar face showed up in the mirror and Harry took a deep, albeit shaky, breath.

"Harry! Oh thank Merlin! I..."

Hermione's brown eyes were haunted and Harry could see that there were dark bags under her eyes. Her hair was more bushy than it had been when he had last called her, indicating that she hadn't had a lot of time to take care of herself lately. Harry wondered where she was and if she had anyone, like he and Daryl had the group. Her voice was also hoarse and Harry's heart clenched. He wished she was here with him.

"Are you okay? Safe?" Harry asked tentatively. "Hermione?"

"I'm safe right now," Hermione replied. "I'm trying to make my way over to the States. You probably know they've closed all of the international floos and stopped all the international portkeys?"

"Yes, I knew that. If they hadn't, I would have insisted on coming over to see everyone," Harry said. "Teddy's okay."

"I'm really glad to hear that. And your boyfriend? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, Hermione. He's right next to me. We're at the Atlanta CDC right now. How is everyone?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed briefly but she shook her head. "The Weasley's are hanging on. I know they lost Percy at the Ministry a few weeks ago. Neville and Draco are okay, I think. There was some kind of… I don't know what started this in the first place but something happened with the veil in the past week. It's now under quarantine from the remaining aurors and unspeakables."

"Veil?" Daryl muttered.

"It's… the barrier between the living and the dead," Harry whispered, wrapping an arm around Daryl's waist as the other man leaned further into him. "Think mystical fog outlined with stone."

"'Mystical?'" Daryl echoed.

Harry snorted then returned to Hermione. "Hadn't the whole Department of Mysteries been under quarantine when this started?"

"Yeah, it had. I just don't know if this is new. The minister's still trying to deny that anything is going on outside of the wizarding world," Hermione explained, rolling her eyes. "Fudge wasn't that bad compared to this man."

Harry sighed. "Well, when you get over here, we're in Georgia as you know. And we've found a group that we're traveling with at the moment."

Hermione nodded. "It hasn't been that long since we've talked."

"I did tell you I got bit, right?" Harry enquired hesitantly.

Hermione's eyes widened and continued to grow. Her mouth opened and then closed. Then she glared at him. "Harry James Potter!"

Harry winced and heard Daryl try to muffle a laugh against Harry's shirt. "I heard that."

"Hermione," Harry started.

"HARRY!"

"You're gonna wake up Teddy," Harry continued, voice taking on a pleading tone. "And I put up wards."

"Harry!"

"Hermione, do I look like a walker?" Harry asked. "Daryl, do I look like a walker?"

"He ain't a walker, Hermione," Daryl finally said, his lips twitching up into a grin.

"Oh, good. That's good," Hermione spoke.

"Oh so now you take Daryl's word over mine?" Harry said, grinning. "I am heart broken."

Hermione laughed. "I trust the redneck more than I trust you, Harry Potter."

Daryl snorted.

"You, Mr. Chosen One-"

"Hermione, that was one time," Harry interrupted then shook his head, looking very sheepish. "Or you know, seventeen years but still."

"You're reckless," Hermione continued. "Regardless, what happened? How are you not a walker?"

Harry went on to tell her of the attack and of the ensuing semi-coma that he landed in. Daryl filled in what happened while Harry was unconscious. It had only been two days but it had scared Daryl so much and Harry could smell old fear as Daryl went on. He tightened his arm around the archer, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles on his back.

"So you're a werewolf now?" Hermione asked as soon as Daryl was done.

"Yeah and Hermione, I bit another person," Harry said. "One of the members of our group got attacked and I got there fast enough to cast a medical stasis charm on her."

"You're saying you found a cure?" Hermione questioned, eyes wide.

"Uh, not so much. I don't know how it worked, only that the werewolf virus is stronger than whatever this is. I don't even know if it would work an hour or two after a person is bitten or scratched by a walker. I also don't know if I'm immune to other bites or scratches now. It might have been a one time thing, like people that get attacked would have to get bitten by a werewolf in the minute or two after the attack."

"You said it worked for the other person though," Hermione confirmed.

"Yeah, it did. And that person was a muggle," Harry added. "It made it a little… complicated afterward to explain."

Hermione sighed. "Only you would stumble upon a werewolf turned walker."

Harry glared at the mirror. Hermione chuckled, her voice more than a little shaky.

"Hermione!"

Harry could hear voices in the background wherever Hermione was and they were tense and fearful. He thought he heard Neville's voice then Hermione's eyes widened and her face went pale. "Harry, I've got to talk to you later!"

"Of course," Harry said, nodding a little. "I thought you said you guys were safe?"

"Yes, we are. I think," Hermione muttered, turning to look at something that wasn't shown in the mirror.

"You think?" Harry repeated, frowning. "Hermione!"

Curse light suddenly came into the mirror's range of vision and Hermione's face disappeared. The mirror went black, end of connection.

Harry exchanged glances with Daryl.

"She'll be okay, right?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Hermione Granger, you are required to make an appearance at the Ministry."

Hermione exchanged glances with Neville, whose eyes widened. Neville stared at the three Aurors that were standing between them and the exit. Hermione knew that whatever had happened, it couldn't be good. Neville was also one of the few people that knew Harry was still alive since he had faked his death a year ago.

"You're not arresting us, are you?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We haven't done anything wrong," Neville remarked, looking out toward the window of the house they were in. They were just planning their escape, with Draco packing for their trip.

"We do not have orders to arrest you. However, we will cast the imperius charm to get you to come with us," the head auror said gruffly. "All of the people on the list are getting rounded up."

"The list?" Hermione repeated, wincing at the knowledge that her wand was beyond her reach right now. "What is that? Neville?"

"I haven't heard anything from Draco," Neville whispered as they shuffled closer toward each other. Neville looked stricken as he said that, face pale, as he realized it had been an hour since Draco had snuck into the Ministry. "Not since an hour ago."

Hermione winced at the loud growling of the undead creatures that were outside the house. The Aurors had used loud destructive spells in getting in, thus drawing in the creatures. It was like they hadn't cared at all about luring in the undead, walkers from what Harry had called them. "The Imperius curse is an Unforgivable. What gives you the right to cast that? I know everyone's panicking but that does not allow you to cast any spell. There are laws!"

The head auror stared at her, his eyes narrowed and almost panicked. "We will use force if you don't cooperate."

The three aurors took a step forward almost as one and pointed their wands at the two of them. One of the aurors, the only woman in the group, glanced to Gryffindor's sword in Neville's hands.

"If the Minister so wants to reassure the public, then why are you allowed to use force?" Neville enquired. "My gran wouldn't have allowed this."

"Your grandmother is dead," one of them spoke as the other two snuck glances out the windows. There was a bigger crowd of walkers out there, hissing and moaning like they had just found the biggest feast of their lives. Their dead eyes were staring inside the house, where the aurors had knocked down the spells protecting the windows and blacking them out. "Imperio!"

Hermione and Neville both dodged and cast spells back, hexing the aurors as they went further into the house. Both of them used non-verbal spells, hoping to stay silent and not lure any more walkers into the house. None of the aurors were doing the same, all three of them were shouting their spells like they were desperate to get their job done and get out of here.

A few hours before, every witch and wizard had heard the klanging alarm bell that the temporary minister of magic had sent out. Hermione had seen every witch and wizard that had been near the two stop and frown then start to panic. That had been the first time that the ministry had even done anything about the epidemic that had started to destroy the muggle world.

Hermione knew that a lot of the walkers, as Harry had called them, had been former wizards. Some of the walkers that she had encountered over the past few months had even been squibs. Actually, she wondered if that was how the epidemic had gotten into the wizarding world. The pureblood families usually disowned squibs and told them to get out of the wizarding world, on pain of death. Now, with the dead rising, squibs would have tried to reach alleged safety, with their mothers and fathers or other relatives.

"Hermione! Duck!"

She immediately ducked at Neville's shout, glancing at her friend. A sickly green light raced over head and flickered out a few feet from her. She flinched, memories of the war against Voldemort attempting to make a comeback. They usually came to her when she was sleeping but now… "What in Merlin's name are they doing? They said they wanted us to come with them! I don't think they were here to kill us!"

Neville shrugged. "I'm as much in the dark as you are. I wish Harry was here; he might know."

"He's in America," Hermione whispered, casting another curse toward the aurors. "We need to get out of here, get the Weasley's out and get out of Britain."

"And go where?"

"To-" Hermione shot up to cast a hex at one of the aurors that had come around from the other end of the house. "To Georgia, to Harry."

Neville stared at her then nodded wearily. "Okay. I'll get Draco. Can you get the Weasley's? Or at least the ones that stayed?"

"I'll go with you to the Ministry," Hermione muttered. "It'll be too crowded with aurors and unspeakables. And I'll see if Harry can loan us his invisibility cloak."

"Alright. We'll take the… muggle entrance?"

Hermione nodded and reached out her hand and Neville took it immediately. She whispered the incantation for apparition and they vanished with a soft crack.

* * *

_Harry finally made it through the pool of human bodies, nudging aside people who didn't quite want to stop fighting. There were also some people who closed the distance between them, evidently not wanting police or interlopers to get through. As soon as he spotted Daryl, he stopped and cast a tempered down blasting charm, enough to get everyone out of circle but not enough to hurt anyone. It helped that it was a particularly windy day and evening so that people attributed it to a strong blast of wind. _

_ He strode through and stopped before the hunter and glared at Merle. Daryl's brother was in the thick of it, or had been before Harry's spell. Harry narrowed his eyes before crouching a few inches before Daryl and __hesitantly smiling__. The man that had helped Harry out of the forest a month ago was lying on the ground and had thrown an arm across his stomach, like he was protecting his ribs. _

_ "__Come on. Let's get out of here," Harry muttered, seeing Daryl open his previously closed eyes and stare up at Harry. _

_ Daryl looked up at the British man and raised an eyebrow, feeling his broken ribs complain. The sun flared in his vision, causing the other man to have a slight halo around his head. "__Harry? __When didj'a get back here?"_

_ Harry returned the look, tilting his head. "A week ago. Come on. Unless you want to get arrested?"_

_ "My brother..." Daryl said, starting to get up and shaking off any of Harry's offers of assistance. _

_ "Is he the one that started this?" Harry asked, finally as Daryl stood up on shaky legs. "Cause the police already got him. __Seems like they're prejudiced.__"_

_ Daryl turned in the direction of the sirens that he realized he was hearing, to where his brother was getting read his rights. Merle had three police officers around him, all ready to act at even the smallest clue that Merle was about to do something. Daryl sighed __and startled a little when he felt a warm touch on his shoulder. _

_ "You have a bad bruise here," Harry remarked, light green eyes going soft then he pulled back when Daryl continued to stand there, motionless. Daryl was too caught in looking into Harry's eyes to notice the police officer that had walked up to them. "__You also have a black eye and what could be a..._

_ "Dixon, you're under arrest," an unfamiliar police officer spoke, voice rough from yelling. __Daryl took a step back as he turned to face the officer, almost running into Harry, who took a step forward. _

_ "Officer, why are you arresting him? Are there any charges?" Harry asked, standing up straighter and loosening up his shoulders. Daryl watched as Harry pulled something out of a coat pocket, something that looked like a badge but it definitely wasn't a badge of a police officer. He knew what the local cop badges looked like and this wasn't it. __From what Daryl could see, it had a lion and snake on it, entwined like a coat of arms. There were also words written above the animals, words that were in another language.__ "__I'm pretty sure Daryl wasn't doing anything and nor did he start the fight."_

_ The police officer opposite them looked at the badge that Harry held up then at Harry's face then back at the badge. "Huh, okay, Mr Potter. We usually take both Dixons in when they cause trouble if we can manage it. Merle tends to be brought in more often than not."_

_ Harry narrowed his eyes, glanced back at Daryl then took a step further toward the police officer. "That's not a charge. That's just bias. You shouldn't judge someone just because they share a last name with a repeat offender. Do you want me to look into your office?"_

_ The police man inhaled sharply __and took a step backward, __brown__eyes drawn__. "No, no sir. __I'll leave you two alone then."_

_ "You do that," Harry retorted, putting away his badge. _

_ "You a police officer?" Daryl finally spoke as they watched the police officer walk off, back to where his colleagues were. There were three police cars parked on the street next to the diner and six police officers in total. Daryl was used to this much police attention, mostly. Whenever his brother started something, there were usually four police officers in attendance. _

_ "No. I'm uh… something else," Harry replied as he turned back to look at Daryl. _

_ "Dad?!"_

_ Daryl turned at the word, eyes widening when he saw a kid race across the sidewalk to Harry. __The kid had on a small black robe that went down to his knees and had a similarly looking small coat of arms in the upper right corner. T__he other man smiled and picked up the kid when he reached him and ruffled the little boy's hair. The boy scrunched up his nose and rolled his eyes. _

_ "Dad..." the kid groaned._

_ "Hey, Teddy, I want you to meet someone," Harry said, grinning at the kid's expression. __The boy turned around in Harry's arms as the other man lowered the kid to the ground. "Teddy, this is Daryl Dixon. Daryl, this is Teddy, my godson."_

_ Daryl peered down at Teddy and watched as the kid looked up at him. The boy had dark brown eyes as he seemed to study Daryl, taking a deep breath as he did. "You smell weird."_

_ "Teddy!"_

_ Daryl snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, well, you look weird kid."_

_ Teddy tilted his head and grinned. "I can look weirder."_

_ "I'm sure you can."_

_ Harry snorted and shook his head when Teddy looked up to him, as if asking for permission. "No, Teddy. We're in out in the open. Maybe… Daryl, do you want to come home with us and have a drink?"_

_ "Merle did leave his bike..." Daryl trailed off, catching Harry's fond but a little nervous look at him. He felt his cheeks redden and turned to look at where his brother's bike was. "This ain't a date, right?"_

_ Harry shook his head, __smiling a little__. __Teddy glanced up and looked between the two of them, eyes appraising.__ "No, it doesn't have to be. It's just a drink or two."_

_ "I'll meet you there."_

_Harry relayed the address and then took off, glancing across the street then crossing it as he held Teddy's hand._

* * *

Harry glared at Dr. Jenner the next morning as he continued to sit in his chair. "If you won't let us out in the next few seconds, I'm not going to regret whatever I do next."

"Harry?"

Shane was pacing, holding tightly onto his shotgun and worrying Carol and Sophia. Teddy was standing next to Sophia, holding her hand. Carl was on Sophia's other side, trying to keep calm but more or less failing, judging by his wide eyes. Harry smiled tightly and turned to look at Amy and Andrea, who were standing next to him. Daryl was holding his crossbow to Dr. Jenner's head, anger in his eyes and fear in his scent.

Rick was trying to placate Shane. Keyword there being 'trying'.

"Do you think, if we… change-"

Harry cut off Amy apologetically. "One, I don't even know if that door is wolf proof. Two, you are not ready to shift yet. You smell of fear and anger, though admittedly not as much as Shane or T-Dog. That does not make for a good first shift. Three, shifting takes time. We do not have that."

"Let us the fuck out of here!" Shane yelled, trying to get past Rick to get to Dr. Jenner.

Harry tucked a hand behind his back, focused on shifting it, then brought it back to within view. "Dr. Jenner, let us out, please."

Dr. Edwin Jenner turned up to look at him and immediately paled, fear rolling off of him in waves. "What the hell are you?"

"Werewolf. Now let us **out before I shift fully.**"

Jenner nodded shakily and pressed the button to open the door just as the clock ticked down to less than three minutes. The big door creaked as it opened, sounding really ominous. Harry heard Rick and Shane yelling for their people to get out and Harry did the same, yelling for Teddy and Daryl.

Daryl herded Teddy in front of them as they ran, Harry shifting his hand back as they went. He saw Andrea and Amy run ahead of them, smelling so much relief coming off of the two sisters that he grinned.

* * *

They all watched as the Atlanta CDC blew up, flames roaring and consuming the building. Harry was pretty sure that that was the biggest explosion that he had ever seen. "Teddy, you okay?"

"Yeah," Teddy whispered, sitting in between Daryl and Harry. His eyes were wide and his skin was pale. "Jacqui stayed..."

Harry sighed and tugged Teddy into his arms. "We'll miss her."

"Yeah..." Teddy replied, trailing off to stare out the window. Harry watched as his godson's eyes closed slowly and then breathed out a sigh of relief. Amy and Andrea were in the RV as far as he could smell and the tracking charm that he had put on Amy told him his sense of smell was correct. Carol and Sophia were okay as was Carl.

"You two okay?"

Harry turned to look at Daryl, who was staring at him. "Yeah, I think so."

The other man nodded then turned the car to follow the RV as they left Atlanta.

* * *

AN: Happy New Years!


	9. Chapter 9

It took them a few days to leave Atlanta but they did. One car and one RV for the whole group, plus Daryl's motorcycle. They got on the road to Fort Benning, hoping that it wouldn't be overrun. Harry took to staying in the RV with Andrea and Amy, knowing that the full moon was close and that Amy would have a hard time staying human since it was her first.

Teddy was with Rick, Lori, Carl, Sophia, and Carol in Carol's sudan, behind the RV. Daryl was riding his motorcycle ahead of them, occasionally finding paths through the parked or broken cars for them. And there were a lot of broken cars on the freeway, with some that looked like they had been in an accident. More than a few had people in them that were dead, some with bad head injuries that Harry didn't have to guess the cause of death. The sun was beaming down on them and Harry could feel it through the car, with the sun flaring through the windows.

"Harry, when is the..." Amy trailed off, staring at him. They were sitting at the back of the RV, for right now alone. T-Dog, Shane, Dale and Glenn were upfront, looking through the front windows.

Harry stared at her, shaking some of the wild black hair out of his eyes. Amy looked him over, the scar on his forehead catching her eye as it always had. He narrowed his green eyes at her and took a deep breath.

Amy shivered at his appraisal of her, almost like a predator. But the alien… consciousness within her that had been in her mind ever since she had gotten attacked started to stir. It was hungry, wanting out, wanting to take control. And each day since she had gotten… changed, it was gaining in volume.

"Amy… easy," Harry murmured.

"Amy?" Andrea asked, turning to look at her sister. She took Amy's right hand in hers, trying to offer comfort. "Everything okay?"

"It… It wants out," Amy whispered. "The..."

"The wolf?" Harry finished, looking at her with soft eyes now.

"Yes."

"The full moon's in two days," Harry said, waving at Daryl as he passed by their window. "We'll hopefully be further away from Atlanta by then. If you need more help, keeping it at bay, then stay close to your sister. Her presence should help your wolf stay put for now."

"What if I want to shift now? It keeps on telling me that I should be on four legs," Amy muttered.

Harry looked up to the front of the RV, where Shane had come back to the restroom and had stopped. Amy watched as the two men locked eyes then Shane finally turned away and walked into the small bathroom. Harry stared at the bathroom for a second more than turned to face Amy and Andrea.

"What does being close to me feel like?" Harry asked hesitantly. "Close your eyes."

Amy raised an eyebrow but closed her eyes. She cautiously took a deep breath and filtered the scents, like Harry had taught her within the last few days. "You smell… safe?"

Amy opened her eyes and looked at Harry when he didn't say anything for a minute or two. He looked a little bewildered, frowning a little, but he sighed. "If you need help staying human, either think of human things or come sit by me."

"Think of human things?" Andrea asked, wrapping arm around Amy when she put her head on her older sister's shoulder.

"Think of driving or… didn't you canoe before the quarry was lost?" Harry asked, standing up and pacing in the small space of the RV.

"Yeah?" Amy confirmed, not sure where he was going with this.

"Think of that, or reading or drinking or happy memories," Harry explained, turning to look at them. "Memories of your human self that you couldn't do on four legs. That's what I do. And it's probably what my surrogate godfather did too."

"Surrogate godfather?" Andrea asked

"My godfather's boyfriend was a werewolf," Harry offered quietly. "And that's a long, complicated story and I don't want to delve into those memories right now. Will you be okay for now?"

Amy hesitated but nodded. "Where are you going?"

"I want to go ride with Daryl for a little bit," Harry explained, walking over to the bathroom of the RV and going to use it.

Andrea and Amy watched as Harry used it then walked out and stopped by a window. They stared with wide eyes as he muttered something in Latin and the window seemed to disappear. Wind bellowed in, curling around them then Harry jumped out. Amy started and quickly stood up to look out of the window only to watch as Harry rolled to a stop then ran to catch up with Daryl.

The archer stopped his bike a second after and waited for Harry to mount the cycle then started it up again. Amy saw Harry slowly wrap his hands around Daryl's waist then the bike went out of her vision, even her enhanced vision from being changed couldn't see them. But she could definitely still hear the bike.

* * *

Two days later, they had to stop due to the RV busting a part. Harry stayed near the big vehicle to watch over Teddy and Amy while Daryl went out to loot stuff from cars. They had stared at each other briefly before separating, silently saying be careful. Of course, Harry knew right where Daryl was due to his sense of smell which was growing with each minute.

Glenn, Shane and T-Dog had spread out to look for things that the group might need and while Harry would have gone with them, Amy needed his presence more. The young woman was growing more anxious as the day went by. She was pacing at the front of the RV, her arms close to her sides and her hands clenched almost into claws. Harry winced and went to pull her to a stop, holding onto one of her shoulders.

"Amy, breathe," Harry whispered, knowing that she would hear him. She looked up at him and he could see her eyes were wide with fear. She smelled of fear too but mostly she smelled of wolf. Back at the CDC, she had smelled mostly human with a little hint of wildness to her. "It's not even three hours past noon. Breathe."

"Harry..."

"Dad?"

Teddy came walking out of the RV, having gone in there to use the bathroom. "Is there something I can do to help you?"

Harry shook his head, taking his attention off of Amy for a second. "No, nothing I can think of. Thank you."

Teddy grinned and went to go off to follow the other two children. Harry returned to look at Amy, nodding at Rick as he went by them to hold his rifle up. "Keep it in, Amy. We can't shift now. Not here."

"Where… Where are we going to?" Amy croaked out, sounding like she was having a hard time keeping it together. Harry narrowed his eyes, hoping that this full moon would go easily enough. He knew that Remus had had it hard but that was with the world intact and now… They would have to watch out for walkers while they were running as wolves. It was probably making Amy's wolf a lot more anxious, judging by the first time that he, Teddy, Daryl and Merle had come across a herd after he had gotten bit.

"The area off of the road," Harry said, turning around to look ahead of them at the road. There was something in the air that was making his wolf anxious but it was still under control. And the sun glaring down on them wasn't helping. Sweat was pouring down his back and he could feel some dripping down his forehead and he reached up a hand to wipe it away. "I'll talk with Rick and Shane to see about staying here for a night."

Andrea came over to pull her sister into a hug after Harry pulled away.

"Rick, you seeing something?" Harry asked, letting go of Amy's shoulders and stepping over to stand next to the other man.

"No," Rick replied. "There's..."

Harry scanned the landscape, hearing Rick take a sharp inhale. He took a deep breath and zeroed in on the lone walker aimlessly trudging between cars a minute or two from them. "There's… Ah, fuck."

"Shit. Dale?"

"I see them," Dale muttered.

Rick immediately went to go tell Lori and the others. Harry sped over to Amy and Andrea, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her over to the RV. "Go in there and stay put."

Amy's eyes widened, fear scent coming off of her in droves. If she was a wolf now, her tail would be tucked in between her legs. Andrea went for her gun then her eyes widened upon realizing that it was still in the RV, still pulled apart. "What? More walkers? Oh god!"

Harry pushed Amy and Andrea into the RV and shut the door. "You two will be safe in there!"

He cautiously sped over to where Teddy, Carl and Sophia were and yanked Teddy down to the ground. "Under the cars, hurry!"

Carl and Sophia hurriedly did as he told them, ducking down under two cars. Harry could smell the walker hoard and it wasn't pleasant. They stunk of death and decay and… hunger. He could smell Daryl too and hoped he was okay. He could smell him but that didn't necessarily mean anything just by itself. He glanced down at Teddy as the first few walkers trudged by their car. Harry was under the car across from the car that Carl, Teddy and Sophia were under, all scrunched up together.

He watched as each walker sluggishly walked through the maze of dead cars and the corpses within. He tried to breathe slowly, shallowly in order to not smell the walkers but the walker group seemed to go on forever to Harry but it only took an hour for all of the walkers to move far enough away from them. An hour for everything to go to shit even more.

The loud youthful sounding scream jolted his heart and he watched as three walkers kind of fell to the ground and searched under the car where the kids were. The walkers hissed and moaned hungrily as they felt around for any trace of human flesh and they latched onto Sophia's leg. Harry was about to draw his wand when Teddy drew his and yelled out a blasting curse.

The walkers were blown back quite a few yards but Sophia had already bolted. And then Harry heard Andrea scream from back in the RV. He stilled for a second then rolled out from underneath the car, drew his wand and cast a cutting curse right at the remaining walkers. The spell light sped toward the walkers and cut their heads off at the neck, their heads falling down onto the cement with a sloppy, squishy thump.

Harry saw Rick go after Sophia then turned to help Teddy and Carl out from under the car, worrying that something was happening to Amy. The walker herd was gone as Teddy stood before him, breathing heavily.

"Go. I've got this."

Harry turned to see Daryl and T-Dog come up. Teddy gave Harry a quick hug then ran over right into Daryl's arms. Daryl stared at Harry then gestured to the RV. "Go."

Harry immediately stood up and raced back to the RV. He looked around the cars in their group and saw Carol and Lori standing up near the RV. Carol was crying, her eyes red from tears. Lori knelt down when Carl came running over and pulled her kid into a tight hug. "What happened?"

"She ran," Harry said as he stopped in front of them. Shane was standing next to Lori and Dale had come back down from the top of the RV as the threat was gone. "Rick went after her. I need to check on Amy."

He quickly went over to the door of the RV, which had been dented inward by force. Harry winced but waved his wand towards it, whispering a repairing charm. The door of the RV instantly flew back to its proper place and the dent disappeared, leaving a whole door in the magic's wake. He waited until the charm was finished then opened the door and stepped in.

There were two dead walkers on the floor of the RV and Andrea was crouched over them, blood splattered on her face. Harry knelt down to look her in the face, seeing her wild green eyes. She wasn't exactly looking at him for the first minute that she saw him come in but after he muttered a cleaning charm, she startled as the blood on her face vanished. "Harry?"

"Amy?" Andrea called, turning around and stepping around the dead walkers to go back to the back of the RV. They could hear whimpering coming from Amy and Harry followed Andrea, stepping around the older sister to help the younger. Amy was sitting in the left back corner of the RV, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms in front of her. Her left arm ended in an orange colored paw with black claws. There was blood matted in the little amount of fur and there were bits of skin underneath the claws.

"Amy?" Harry whispered, sitting down across from her.

"I couldn't help it," Amy said, slowly looking up at him. She glanced at him briefly then stared down at her left hand/paw. Harry took a deep breath, smelling the increasing amounts of wildness coming from Amy. She was sweating with the struggle to stay human, to stay on two legs.

"Harry..." Amy trailed off, her voice strangled.

"Can you wait any longer or should I talk you through the shift now? It's only 3pm."

"I can wait," Amy croaked out painfully, extending her left arm out away from her. "I just need you to stay close."

"I can do that," Harry said then raised an eyebrow. "We'll just wait for Rick to come back with Sophia then."

"Sophia?" Amy repeated. "What happened to her?"

"She bolted," Harry explained, hoping that talking would help Amy to relax enough for her hand to shift back. "A few walkers came at the kids and she bolted. Rick went after her. Here… let's get that blood off of you."

Harry held his wand and murmured another cleaning charm and watched as the blood on Amy's face and on her left hand vanished. Amy laughed suddenly at the tickling sensation, her green eyes lighting up momentarily.

He was about to start telling a story of his school years, to hopefully distract both of them, when he heard his mirror ring. It was loud and sudden, making Amy and Andrea startle. It also got Amy distracted enough for her hand to turn back into a hand. Amy yelped and then glanced down at her left hand, like it had been possessed or something. His trunk was in the RV, under the bed. It was loud enough to cause the people outside to exclaim.

"Are you okay for a few moments?" Harry asked, peering at Amy. "I need to go answer it."

"Answer what? Is that a cellphone?" Andrea questioned.

"Not quite," Harry replied, pulling out his trunk and opening it with a muttered word in parselmouth. He reached in and grabbed his mirror and held it. He held Amy's gaze until she nodded. "I'll just be right outside and I'll take these two guys with me."

Andrea and Amy's eyes both widened as Harry cast a levitation charm on both of the dead walkers and floated them outside with him.

"The hell was what that?" T-Dog yelled. The man was sitting down on one of the lawn chairs that Dale had and he was holding onto his left arm with a towel wrapped around it. Dale was standing over him and Harry saw Shane, Carol and Lori over by the road railing.

"Sounded like a cellphone," Dale said. "But there's no service out here."

"There's definitely no service out here," T-Dog said. "If there was, I would call my friends."

"It's my mirror," Harry said, exchanging a look with Daryl, who was standing with Teddy in his arms.

"Your mirror?" Shane repeated, bewildered.

Harry nodded and went over to sit behind the RV and heard Daryl follow. The other man put Teddy down and came to stand in front of Harry. They hugged briefly, taking comfort in each other's presence than Harry answered the call.

"Hermione?" Daryl questioned, looking at Harry intently.

"I think so," Harry replied, glancing down at the mirror that was glowing. "She, Neville and Draco are only people that know I'm still alive. The Weasley's too but we just talked to Hermione a few nights ago."

"Hermione?" Harry asked, answering the mirror call. His friend appeared in the center of the mirror. Her brown eyes were tired and wary but she was alive.

"Harry! It's good to hear your voice," Hermione muttered quietly. Harry could hear the moans and growls of walkers through the mirror call and someone…

"Is Neville with you too?" Harry asked, glancing up at the sky briefly. He could already feel the pull of the moon and he needed to shift, needed to run. But his need wasn't as bad as Amy's since it was her first full moon and her first shift. He idly wondered what her wolf would look like. Seeing her hand/paw had given both of them a hint.

"Yes, he is," Hermione said, smiling tightly. "We're at the muggle entrance to the ministry now and it looks like they've been overrun."

"Hey, Harry," Neville murmured, poking his head into the call.

"What's happening over there?" Harry asked, letting Teddy say hi.

"Hi Aunt Hermione, Uncle Neville," Teddy exclaimed, waving.

"Hi Teddy," Hermione whispered, her eyes brightening a little. She looked like she hadn't slept in four days from the bags under her eyes and her unbrushed, frizzy hair. "It's good to see you. How are you doing?"

"I'm good..." Teddy replied. "But my friend… she's lost."

"Oh?" Hermione asked. "What happened?"

"We encountered a herd," Harry said, hearing Carol and Lori mutter frantically at Rick's return. "They scared her off."

"Oh, that's awful. We've seen one of those big groups," Hermione commented, still talking quietly. "Is your friend your age?"

"Daryl?" Rick called, coming around to the back of the RV.

Harry and Daryl both looked at the former police officer. He looked like he had just run a mile, sweaty and bloody. Rick was staring at them with a frown, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked, going over to him and reaching around to take his crossbow off of his shoulder.

"I lost her," Rick confessed. "You track?"

Daryl turned to exchange a look with Harry, who nodded, knowing what Daryl was going to do.

"Let's go find her," Daryl said. "Harry, you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, go. Amy and I will probably shift in a few hours if there's no trail that you can follow," Harry offered.

Daryl nodded then turned to gesture to Rick for the other man to follow him. Rick glanced back at Harry and Teddy before following. Harry heard Rick asking Daryl what Harry had meant before turning back to the mirror call.

"No, she's younger than me."

Hermione winced, shuddering slightly.

Harry narrowed her eyes. "Why are you guys at the ministry? Weren't you working at coming here?"

"Yes, we are. That's our destination but Draco… We haven't heard from him in two hours," Hermione explained quietly. "Neville and I won't leave without him."

"Of course. What did you need?"

"Could we possibly borrow your invisibility cloak?" Hermione questioned. "We need to get in unseen."

"Sure, I don't particularly need it right now," Harry said.

"I'll go get it," Teddy said, jumping down from the RV ladder that he had been about to climb.

"Thanks, Teddy," Harry responded.

"Who did I hear while Teddy and I were talking?" Hermione asked, turning around briefly to look at something before turning back to the call.

"Oh, that was Rick," Harry explained. "He's kind of the leader of our group and a former police officer."

"I assume he's not a wizard?" Hermione asked as Teddy came back with the cloak and held it out to Harry.

"No, he's a muggle. Teddy and I are the only wizards in the group and Amy is the only other werewolf," Harry said, taking the cloak from Teddy and feeding it into the mirror. The mirror glowed more brightly as the material went through and once the cloak disappeared, the mirror gave an acknowledging tone. "Just remember, the cloak doesn't shield you from walkers."

Back in London, Hermione grasped the cloak in her hands and handed it off to Neville. "Thanks, Harry. I hope we'll be in America by next week, at the very latest."

Harry nodded, his heart tight in his chest at not being there with his friends. He hadn't been there when Ron had been captured by Voldemort during that war and now… "Be careful, Hermione."

Hermione nodded. "You too, Harry. Bye."

Harry hung up the call and let a few tears go then he took a few deep breaths. Teddy was right by him, eyes bright. "Let's go make sure Amy's okay, hmm?"

* * *

AN: Okay, I have one question for you guys:

Who would you like Amy to be paired with in the future? It could be a girl or guy and the person could be from either Walking Dead or HP.

And as a side note, if you guys haven't looked at the pairings for this story, I've added Rick/Hermione to it.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: AN: The italics in this chapter are not flash backs. They're wolf times, in other words, when Harry is the wolf.

* * *

Harry had to stay by Amy's side over the next few hours, making sure that she didn't shift until it was time. The afternoon turned to dusk by the time that the main search party for Sophia came back, with no kid. Carol was devastated, fear and tentative grief were coming off her every other minute. Harry took to doling out food, making sure everyone got something to eat. Carl and Teddy were in the RV with Andrea and Dale.

Daryl was pacing across the highway, occasionally looking at where Harry and Amy were as the evening started.

"Just a few more minutes," Harry muttered, gesturing for Amy to follow him as soon as she was done unclothing. She drew the robe that Harry had given her around her body and nodded to him, indicating she was ready. The young woman was stressed and nerves wracked her body, sweat pouring down her back and her forehead from the effort to stay human under the full moon. She hadn't said anything for more than an hour, gritting her teeth. They climbed over the highway protective railing and walked down the slight hill until he found the right place to shift in. Or what the wolf inside him deemed as a good place. Daryl followed, crossbow in hand and watched the surrounding landscape quietly. It was going on late evening, the sun having gone down an hour ago.

"I told Rick," Daryl said. "They know."

"Thanks."

"Can I watch?"

Harry turned to look up at the highway and narrowed his eyes at Andrea's approach. "Andrea, get back to the RV," Harry retorted, stopping to glare at the older sister. "You can watch the second time but not this one. It's too unpredictable the first time."

Andrea stared at Amy, who didn't even turn to look at her, before nodding. "Take care of her?"

"Of course," Harry replied, watching as Andrea turned to go back up to the highway and the group.

Harry sat down under a tree, urging Amy to sit down in front of him. The full moon shone down on them, illuminating the forest around them. Harry could smell what remained of Sophia's fear as well as the walkers from the herd this afternoon, which made the wolf excited. There were creatures to hunt and to take down but not... Harry closed his eyes briefly to hold a small conversation with the creature and got it to acknowledge the fact that walkers were not for eating; hunting, yes, but not taking a bite out of. It didn't help that Harry couldn't smell or hear any actual wildlife that was big enough for two wolves. "Amy, you can shift anytime now. Just let it happen."

Amy whined low in her throat and finally looked at him, her eyes wide and her face devoid of color. It looked like she was about to be sick but then she kind of collapsed inward, falling onto all fours. Little whimpering noises came from her throat as she started to change. The robe around her dropped to the ground as reddish-orange fur rippled up and down her back, encompassing her body.

Harry watched as Daryl turned his back to them and his lips twitched up into a grin before closing the distance between Amy and himself. Amy's back was shuddering, trying to bow inward to such a degree that it looked like the spine was breaking and Harry wrinkled his nose. He knew what Amy was going through and it wasn't pleasant, pretty or nice. The fur spread over her back and the rest of her body at a slow pace, slower than he would have thought. When he had first shifted, it had not taken a longer than fifteen minutes and Amy was... She just sat there panting, with no change for a few minutes, groaning low in her throat.

"Amy, you need to let your human shape go," Harry whispered, not daring to touch her right now. Her skin/fur would be hyper sensitive and she would not like anything or anyone touching her at this moment. "Just let it go."

Amy gave a strangled whimper and then she seemed to process his words, bowing her head and letting the change happen. His own wolf was pummeling the mental cage he had constructed around it, trying to force the change. But he wasn't going to start until Amy was safe and shifted fully. He watched as she grew into a beautiful, auburn colored wolf, with a few white specks dotted in and amongst her coat. She stood there on four paws and just panted, exhausted from the energy it took to change shape. It had taken her 20 minutes to make the full shift from human to wolf and it showed, as she collapsed down to the ground, breathing hard.

"You're beautiful," Harry murmured, reaching out a hand for the she-wolf to sniff.

Daryl turned back around and looked Amy over, nodding his agreement. "Never seen a wolf that shade of red before."

"Magic works in-"

"Stop."

Harry snorted, watching as Amy finally worked up the energy to hold her head up. The wolf's ears perked up, twitching back and fourth and Harry looked around the area that he had chosen to shift in. He couldn't smell, see or hear any walkers around them but perhaps Amy was smelling old fear. The wolf growled before them, still lying on the ground and then shook out her coat and stood up.

Amy the wolf peered at him, her green eyes narrowing. Harry stared back before sighing and pulling his shirt and jeans off. The wolf within his own mind started to howl, thoughts of running on four legs coming to the fore of his mind as he let the change happen.

_Wolf opened his eyes as the change finished, kneading his paws in the dirt underneath him. He smelled mate behind him and a new wolf in front of him, his tail starting to wag a little at the presence of a new packmate. He watched as the new she-wolf growled and tucked her tail between her legs, shaky and scared of the alpha. _

_Then the wolf in front of him changed, growling loudly at the human behind him. A slight breeze carried the scents of agitated humans from up on the hill down to them and she whined in excitement. Wolf shook his head, growling even louder and took a step forward, ears perked up. They weren't suppose to hunt people, he barked. People were thin, stringy, and not full of meat. _

"You need me still?"

_Wolf turned around and whined happily, looking up at the human he had chosen as a mate. _

"Harry? Don't forget Sophia."

_Wolf whined again and then turned around nudging his new packmate forward into the wooded area. The she-wolf yipped and started to run on new legs, once or twice tripping over her new paws. Wolf yipped in bemusement then trotted ahead of her, hearing the human man follow. His new packmate howled in frustration as she tried to keep up and he yipped in encouragement, running and nipping at her heels. She growled at him and he growled back playfully then turned his head to the north, smelling the walking corpse as it came toward them. Wolf sighed, remembering the conversation he had had with the human that shared their body. They weren't for eating but hunting? Wolf could do that. He sped up, shifting to a fast paced run as he jumped over bushes and logs. _

_His packmate followed, sniffing the air and barking at the scent of prey. The walking dead humans smelled ripe and bloody, with old scents of fear lingering on their bodies. He wrinkled his nose at the smell, unused to dead humans walking around when they should be still. They also smelled a lot worse than natural prey, like deer and boar. Dead humans smelled wrong to his nose and he knew that the human who shared his body thought that they smelled wrong and felt wrong._

_The she-wolf running next to him growled and changed course, heading west. He yipped questioningly and sniffed the air in that direction, howling to let his human mate know that they had caught the trail of a tiny human. He heard booted feet running in their direction and knew that the man was following at a distance, not interfering in their hunt. The human that the wolf shared a body with knew that to the tiny human, his mate would look better. Less scary and more familiar than a giant wolf._

_The scream that followed urged him on, telling him where the human cub was. He took a deep breath of the air around them and sped up, running around trees and dodging the bloody human with its throat torn out. A squeal drew his attention to his packmate and he turned to watch her growling loudly at a dead human who had grabbed a hold of her hind foreleg. He growled and launched himself at the dead human man, clamping onto its arm and tugging. _

_The arm popped off with a sickly sound but the human continued to attack, its head and teeth going straight for the she-wolf. The twang of a bow heralded his mate as the familiar man caught up with them, already nocking another arrow just in case. The first arrow hit the dead human right between the eyes before it could take a bite out of the she-wolf's flesh and he watched it keel over, really dead this time. _

_Another scream filled the air and he growled, urging his packmate onward. She was still staring at the dead human that was just walking and attacking her, as if it was still about to take a chomp out of her flesh. He trotted over and head butted her, yipping close to her ear. She growled at him but lowered her head and took off. He looked up at his human mate and whined a little. The man scowled._

"No more getting bit, alright? One time is enough for you."

_Wolf barked his agreement then took off, heading in the direction where his four legged pack mate went and where the human cub was._

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AN: I have created a facebook page for readers of my stories to ask questions, leave comments, anything like that. I will also be putting polls for pairings eventually on there too so feel free to like the page. And I will try my best to post updates on stories too.

Just search for 'molmcmahon' on facebook if you're interested.


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